Desert Fox Redux
by Zaion Indulias
Summary: Temari and Naruto found love in each others arms and lived their lives happily, until the 'Day of Snakes' shattered their heaven. Now Temari has a chance to change things for the better. But in the face of destiny, will she succeed in changing fate?
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. Nope, not one bit.

* * *

Desert Fox Redux

A story by Zaion Indulias

Prologue: Return to the Past

BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP BEEP

"Dammit." Sabaku no Temari muttered as she rolled out of bed and slammed her fist over the top of her alarm clock. Her hair hung loosely around her head, obscuring her face.

She shivered in the unseasonably cold air and turned, stepping towards where her closet should have been to grab the heavy fluffy robe her husband had gotten her for their anniversary that year.

"WHAH!" CRASH

Temari promptly tripped over a chair that should NOT have been where it was. As she clambered back to her feet she barely had time to take in the sight of her room – the room she had lived in as a teenager back in Sunagakure, not the one she had shared with her husband for the past five years – and screamed as over a decade's worth of unrealized memories flooded into her mind.

Sabaku no Temari promptly passed out, her body shutting down to allow her mind time to process the memories of her future life.

* * *

When Temari came to an indeterminate number of hours later she found that her room was already sweltering under the midday heat of Sunagakure. Shaking her head to clear the fog from her mind she silently thanked lady luck for sending her back to a day that she had had to herself, as no one had come looking for her and found her in the unfortunately compromising position of laying butt naked on her floor.

Shivering from having spent so long laying on the cold stone Temari pushed open the door to her bathroom and stepped in, heading straight for the tub and turning on the spigot. She slipped into the tub and sighed as the steaming hot water flowed over her body, which was still sore from the fall over her chair. As she leant back and closed her eyes she finally relaxed and allowed her self to accept what had happened.

_He really did it. That bastard fox really did it. He managed to send me back before the world went to shit._

Temari's face frowned and a tear formed in her eye as she came to a second realization.

_But…HE isn't mine anymore. And he won't be…not until our paths cross as they were always destined to…not until I can connect with him and use the seals the fox taught me. _

Still crying lightly, Temari sank deeper into the steaming water of her tub. Only one more year to go and then she would have her first chance to get her husband back.

* * *

AN: I was originally intending to avoid any form of a 'redux fic', but after reading two Naruto fics that to varying degrees succeed amazingly at it, I finally formulated an idea that I actually liked and just couldn't let go. The two fics that inspired this were "Blonds Have More Fun" by EroSlackerMicha and "Once More with Feeling this Time" by gman319, both of which I hope you will check out.

Anyways, I'm sorry this was so short, but I chose to write a simple prologue to introduce this story. Next time, I promise there will be a much more substantial chapter. Until then have a "Jaa ne!" and a Happy Holidays from me to you.


	2. Chapter 2

Desert Fox Redux

A story by Zaion Indulias

Chapter 1: Konoha, Again!

Nine months later Temari stood before the gates of Konoha, flanked by her two brothers and their Jounin instructor Baki. She was wearing a bodysuit made out of layers of various shades of purple cloth, with a deep red sash wrapped around her waste. She had her large battle fan strapped to her back and wore her Suna hitai-ate around her neck.

She had waited for this day anxiously for the past nine months. She had pressed Baki for additional training to toughen her self up, and sought excuses to explain away her sudden increase in ability; that and a whole lot of acting weaker than she really was to conceal the true extent of her skills. She certainly didn't want anyone to know that a genin knew some of the higher level techniques carefully guarded by the Jounin of Sunagakure.

Temari and her siblings remained quiet as Baki stepped forward and approached one of the Chunin guarding the gates. The young man eyed him warily before taking the IDs Baki readily handed over. After confirming their authenticity the young man handed them back and waved the Suna shinobi through the gates. The quartet immediately made their way towards a nearby hotel that Baki had arranged lodgings at.

As they walked Temari continuously cast her gaze around her. She wasn't worried about any attacks from Konoha shinobi, as they hadn't had any trouble with them the first time around until Konohamaru had run into her brother. No, she was just hoping that finally, after nine months of painful heartbreaking loneliness, she would catch a glimpse of her husband. She had no such luck though.

As they were walking Gaara couldn't help but notice the way his sister's eyes were jumping around. The past nine months had been very confusing for the Jinchuriki. One day out of the blue his sister had approached him with a small sad smile on her face. Braving the possible wrath of his sand, she had approached him and wrapped him in a hug, muttering over and over how sorry she was for what had been done to him by their father. He knew that the blond girl still had a few small scars from where his sand had struck her, attempting to force her to move away. But his sister had withstood the pain, merely continuing to cry and repeat her apologies over and over.

Gaara was still not one hundred percent sure what was going on, but he knew that his sister had changed, and he knew that she had somehow changed him. The voice of Mother had been growing weaker over the past nine months, and Gaara had discovered that he could even sleep safely without Mother taking over. Not that he slept much, mind you, just that he could.

Kankuro on the other hand had failed to notice anything about his sister except that she had grown scarier the past nine months. She must have, to be able to approach Gaara without feeling afraid for her life like everyone else did. He still got the heebie jeebies anytime he had to be near his brother. At least his brother hadn't been spouting off about blood for the past several months. Thank Kami for small mercies.

When they finally reached the hotel Kankuro and Temari left their packs and headed out to go exploring, while Baki and Gaara settled down to a quiet game of Go. Temari had remembered her brother's penchant for the game from her previous life, and how his biggest regret was that he had never gotten a chance to play Baki before his untimely death fighting against Akatsuki. So she had conveniently introduced Gaara to the game several years early, and sure enough the boy had taken to it like a fish to water.

As she and Kankuro walked lazily through the village she breathed in deeply, enjoying the familiar scents in the air. After she and Naruto had been married they had settled in Konoha, more because most of his friends and family were there than because of an actual desire of Naruto's to remain. After he had been passed up by the council for the position of Hokage for a known traitor he hadn't really felt very kindly towards the village, but he had behaved politely to ensure he didn't create a rift between Suna and Konoha over the decision. Akatsuki was still a threat at the time, and he hadn't wanted to risk dealing with them without backup.

"Get back here you brat!!"

Temari brought her mind back to the present as she heard a voice. Familiar, as she had stood in almost this exact same spot all those years ago, the first time she had met her husband. Of course, she had been too dense at the time to see him for what a great ninja he was. That and he had been wearing that atrocious orange jacket, and…

Right on time three children with goggles pushed up on their foreheads and a blond shinobi a few years younger than her self came racing around the corner, running for their lives from an enraged pink-haired girl. Like clockwork, the darker haired of the two young boys plowed straight into Kankuro, causing the others to slide to a screeching halt.

"That hurt…" Kankuro muttered.

The black-clad boy ached to grab the brat by his collar and teach him a lesson, but his scary-as-hell sister had given him strict, and eerily specific, orders before they left that if a stupid brat should collide with him during their time in Konoha, that he was NOT under any circumstances to lay a hand on him. It scared the puppet-master how often his sister had been able to predict things as of late. It was almost as if she knew exactly what was going to happen next.

Shaking off the weird feeling Kankuro stepped back, looking up and glaring at the two Konoha shinobi. The blond looked utterly retarded in that bright-orange outfit of his. It was almost like he wanted to get killed. And the girl wasn't too impressive either. She was too thin, and her arms and legs showed very little muscle definition.

Temari on the other hand looked like a deer caught in headlights. As much as she had waited for this day, she was still nervous as hell. She knew logically that Naruto would still be the young brash fool that would one day win her heart, but actually seeing him so young again struck a chord. It took all her will power not to burst out crying and rush to embrace him in a hug. She certainly wanted to do it, but she knew that traumatizing her once and future lover would only damage any chance she had of getting her husband back. After all, the seals required to transfer the memories she had brought back from the future that had been locked inside her head by the bastard fox back to their original owner would require willingness on both people's parts.

Shaking her self out of her stupor Temari crouched before the brunette kid and reached out a hand to help him up.

"You alright kid?" She asked politely.

The kid looked surprised before taking her hand and letting her help him to his feet.

"You should really watch where you're going. It's not polite to run into people, and some people don't have the restraint my brother has." She continued with a smile on her face. She looked up and smiled at the others to show that she was no threat, her gaze lingering on Naruto several seconds longer than the others.

Stepping back now that Konohamaru was on his feet she made a show of looking around before looking up into the tree her left.

"I can feel your presence up there you know. You aren't as good at hiding it as you'd like to think." Temari said tauntingly.

The grin on her face concealed her inner hatred of the dark-haired boy who dropped out of the tree to a cry of 'Sasuke-kun!!!!' from the pink-haired girl. Uchiha Sasuke. The man who had caused her husband no end of grief. Who had thrust his hand through his chest. Who had taken from him almost everything he had ever wanted. And who had ultimately betrayed Naruto to Akatsuki.

Temari had relished the day that Akatsuki had turned around and betrayed Konoha, razing it to the ground with the power of the nine Bijuu. She didn't know if that future still existed in another reality or not, and she didn't much care. The Kyuubi had used the last of its independence to make a pact with her, sending their memories into the past in exchange for a bit of freedom once she had restored Naruto to him self. That and to kill certain people.

She couldn't say that she wouldn't gladly carry out the latter part of the deal when the time came.

"What are you bastards doing in our village?" Sasuke asked as he walked forward and stood halfway between his teammates and the Sabaku siblings.

"Hmmph. Another guy who pisses me off…" Kankuro muttered, only to be hit in the shoulder by a punch from Temari.

"Shut it, brother." She hissed before returning her attention to those before her with a smile on her face.

"The Chunin Selection Exams are being held in Konoha this time, and my brothers and I are here to compete for promotion to the rank of Chunin. You can go ask any ANBU, I'm sure they'll tell you the same thing, right before they smack you in the head for wasting their valuable time." Temari spoke with sweetness, all the while getting a covert jab in at Sasuke.

When Naruto asked what the Chunin Selection Exam was it physically hurt Temari to see the boy who would one day be hers again looking so stupid. She knew he hadn't been the sharpest tool in the shed when he was younger, but it was one thing to hear about it and quite another to see it. Sighing, she began to explain about the exams politely, in a way that she knew he would be able to grasp. The entire time she kept casting covert glances at him, taking in everything about him.

He was dirty from training, and there were patches on his jacket and pants that had obviously been used to repair holes left by kunai or other weapons. His blue eyes were brilliant, and shined out with genuine excitement from under his head of bright yellow hair as what she was saying began to sink in. When he turned to excitedly ask Konohamaru if he should enter the exam she smiled and giggled. He hadn't lost one iota of that breathless energy as an adult, merely turned it to more…productive endeavors.

Temari blushed fiercely as she remembered one particular evening shortly after they had started dating. They had had to replace Naruto's kitchen table the next day.

"Hey, what's your name?" Sasuke asked.

Temari blinked. "Huh? You mean me?" She asked in confusion. The first time around he had asked that question, but it had been of Gaara.

At Sasuke's nod of confirmation Temari straightened up and smirked.

"I'm Sabaku no Temari, eldest daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage." She said before turning her gaze to Naruto. Sasuke didn't fail to notice that she didn't ask for his name in return.

"Well I'm the grandson of the Sandaime Hokage, and one day I'll replace him as the Hokage of this village!" Konohamaru shouted energetically, as if challenging her to deny it.

Instead Temari smiled and giggled lightly, covering her mouth with her hand. "I don't doubt it, kid." She said with a smile. "I don't doubt it at all."

She favored the rest of the Konoha genin and the other two kids with a small smile.

"Well, we should be going. We were just exploring the village looking for the best places to eat anyways. We should probably head back to our hotel and meet back up with our brother and our instructor. Maybe we'll see you in the exams." Temari smiled and waved as Kankuro turned to walk away and she turned to follow. After a few steps she stopped and turned back to face them, having made her decision.

"Ne, cutie. Would you like to come along and show me where the best places to eat in Konoha are? It'd go a long way towards making my stay here worthwhile if I could spend some time with you." She said lightly, smiling.

"Back off you bitch!!! Sasuke-kun is mine!!"

A large sweat-drop appeared on Temari's forehead as Sakura stepped between her and a smirking Sasuke, yelling her brains out. Sasuke was just about to tell Sakura to mind her own business and step forward to accept Temari's invitation when the Suna-kunoichi mock-retched and pretended like she was going to throw up.

"BLEH!! Are you kidding me? I'd never go out with that emo duck-butt even if you paid me. I was talking to the blond cutie, what's your name, Naruto?" She replied, chuckling internally.

_Heh, strike one, Sasuke. Remember, three strikes your out._

Naruto blinked and pointed at him self in confusion.

"Huh? You want to have lunch with me?"

Behind her Temari could practically hear her brother thinking the same confused thoughts about Naruto as Naruto was about him self.

Temari nodded and smiled. "Yup. You're cute, and there's something about you I just can't place, but it's intriguing. I'd like to get to know you better."

Temari saw Naruto look between her and Sakura for several moments before taking a deep breath and stepping forward, obviously having made his choice.

"Okay! I'll show you Ichiraku's! They have the best ramen in the whole world!!" Naruto said excitedly as he ran forward towards an already turning Temari.

"Oh, I know a place in Suna that could probably give them a run for their money." Temari said with a smile on her face as Naruto matched pace with her as they walked away. Naruto grinned back up at the older kunoichi.

"Hehe, I doubt it. Old Man Ichiraku makes the best ramen in the whole world, I'm telling you."

Temari smiled and decided to humor the poor boy. After all, she did happen to agree with him on that point. Ichiraku's was the definitely the best.

* * *

Lunch that day was the first time Temari had truly smiled in almost a year. Kankuro had left after a single bowl, stating flatly that Naruto was annoying and he was going to go clean his puppet. Temari had merely shrugged and promptly gone back to her discussion with Naruto about the finer points of ramen and being a shinobi. Kankuro had walked away very glad his sister hadn't beat him again for his rudeness.

After so long waiting to finally see him again, Temari found that it was surprisingly difficult not to just pull him into a hug and kiss him, even if he was a bit younger than she really remembered him. Despite the young age, he was her lover, or at least had been, and if all went according to plan he would be again. Temari knew that he was slated to meet and be trained by one of the greatest seal masters in the world after the first two parts of the Chunin exams were complete, and she knew that her chance to once again win Naruto's love and trust would come shortly thereafter.

Naruto was on his tenth bowl of ramen already, Temari on her third having been eating at a more sedate pace. She wanted no excuse to develop for them to have to end their lunch 'date', so she was eating slowly to ensure that she didn't finish before Naruto. She giggled as he recounted to her how his Academy instructor had treated him to ramen after he was promoted to genin. She also noted sadly how Naruto left out certain details, like Mizuki's conversation about the Kyuubi. She still remembered the righteous fury that had boiled up inside her when he had finally told her the details of how he had passed, and if Mizuki hadn't already been locked away and powerless she would have dealt with the bastard her self.

As it was, she had insisted that she be allowed to check that the bastard was still secure, and had mentally scarred about half of Konoha's military police in the process of doing so. Ibiki had very nearly commissioned her into the Interrogation Corps after she had intimidated an entire squad of trained guards into telling her where Mizuki was being kept, but events that followed shortly thereafter made that an impossibility.

Temari had to fight to keep a smile on her face as she was once again reminded of what that bastard had done to her husband, and she vowed once again that when the time she would stand beside her husband against him once again, and this time the bastard wouldn't walk away from the fight.

"Ne, Temari-san?" Naruto asked hesitantly, knocking Temari out of her thoughts.

Temari noticed that Naruto's eyes were downcast and he looked sad.

"Yes?" Temari replied, wondering what was wrong.

"Why did you ask me to grab lunch with you?" Naruto asked.

Temari sighed and then smiled faintly.

_Guess I can tell him the truth, or at least as much as is safe to at the moment._

"The truth is Naruto, that I knew someone like you, a long time ago. He was a really important person to me, and I was devastated by his death. He was betrayed by someone he had considered his brother, and I was in pain for a long time after it happened. Meeting you today, it just reminded me of all that I had lost." Temari sighed. "I guess, I figure that since you are the same as the one I once loved, that maybe it would be worth it to open my heart again."

Naruto blinked in confusion before what she had said settled in.

"Wait, what?!! Are you saying you asked me to grab lunch with you because you like me?!!"

Temari chuckled and smiled at Naruto's reaction. He was always so cute when he was shocked by something.

"That's precisely what I'm saying cutie." Temari said with a smile. Making her decision, she leant in and kissed the stunned Naruto on the cheek before paying for her food and sliding off of her stool. "I'm really sorry but I do need to meet up with my brothers soon. Hopefully we can do this again soon, my foxy ninja."

Temari winked at Naruto before smiling and walking away, leaving Naruto bright red and still as night. The poor boy had been utterly blindsided, and Old Man Ichiraku and Ayame both chuckled. Whoever that girl was, she was certainly good for Naruto. Much better than that violent Sakura girl.

As soon as she rounded a corner and was sure that she was out of sight Temari grinned like a maniac and let out a small squeal of happiness before running off towards her hotel. Life was finally looking up for the blond-haired wind user.

* * *

The next week was relatively uneventful for Temari. She didn't see Naruto again, but she was sure that he was just so excited about being allowed to take the Chunin exams that it had made him forget their 'date'. She spent the time polishing her fan, training her body, and getting her self mentally prepared for the exam. Thankfully the changes in her younger brother hadn't weakened him, merely curbed his bloodlust. She didn't expect to have any trouble during the exams, at least not until the preliminaries. The vagaries of fate could throw a wrench into things if the match-ups occurred differently than before, but she'd cross that bridge when she came to that.

July first finally rolled around, and the three Sabaku siblings made their way to the exam location in silence. Gaara wore his typical un-amused expression, while Kankuro was smirking. The older of the two boys was confident in both his own abilities and those of his younger brother. Temari on the other hand was fighting to keep a straight face. She wanted to smile as she was going to get to see Naruto again soon, and only the constant twitching of the corners of her mouth betrayed her feelings.

It took all her self-control during the first exam not to blow things when she saw the shinobi from the Hidden Sound trying to pick a fight with the Konoha shinobi. Hell, it was taking all her self control to even allow events to progress closely to the original time line during the exams. Part of her wanted to save her husband from the pain she knew was coming. The other part realized that she couldn't risk altering events too far or she could risk never getting him back.

Ultimately the cautious part won out over the emotional part.

Temari was pleased to see that Naruto once again stood up and called bull-shit on Ibiki's rules for the tenth question.

_That's my Naruto! Tell them how it is!!_

By the time the first exam was over Temari couldn't hide the smile on her face. As the genin were escorted from the room in Mitarashi Anko's wake Temari maneuvered her self so that she would bump into Naruto. Smiling down at the younger blond when she realized who had bumped into him she leant down and kissed him lightly on the cheek.

"That was amazing how you stood up to Ibiki. He had most of the other genin shitting their pants before you spoke up. I'm proud of you, my foxy ninja."

Temari winked before hurrying off to catch up with her team. She was in such a rush that she didn't notice Uchiha Sasuke's eyes following her, admiring her figure as she ran from the room.

If she had the teme would likely never have survived to see another sunrise, consequences be damned.

* * *

When they arrived at the field outside of the Forest of Death Temari was pleased to note that Naruto kept sneaking surreptitious glances at her. Even if he did look confused and keep blushing every time she caught him looking. _Especially_ if he did look confused and keep blushing every time she caught him looking.

It took all of her self control not to ask Gaara to crush the Kusa-nin Orochimaru was disguised as when he returned Anko's kunai to her. Temari knew that the bastard would be making her Naruto's life miserable within a matter of hours, but she also knew she couldn't interfere. Events had to play out as close to original as possible until she got her chance to return Naruto's memories to him.

That didn't mean she had to like it.

As the teams spread out to head to their individual starting gates Temari said a small prayer to Kami to keep her Naruto-kun safe from harm.

* * *

Five days later Temari stood with the other teams who had completed the second exam in a large room, standing before the Hokage, the proctors of the first and second exams. She was nervous, as there were only a few minutes remaining in the exam, and Naruto's team had yet to arrive. Same with that traitor Kabuto's team.

Temari sighed and took a deep breath.

_Calm down Temari, they arrived at the last minute the first time around as well. There's no reason to think that anything different as happened. You're just being paranoid._

Sure enough, with one minute left until the deadline, Naruto's team and Kabuto's team were ushered through separate doors into the chamber to line up with the rest of the genin. As the sickly Konoha Jounin who was going to be in charge of the preliminaries began to explain the situation and the rules of the next part of the exam Temari turned her gaze to Naruto. His clothes looked a little beat up, but he had a proud smile on his face. When he caught her looking at him she blushed and looked forward, only to turn her head and look at him again once she was sure he had returned his attention to the sickly man before them.

She didn't notice the small smile and blush that had been on his face before she had returned her gaze to looking at him.

* * *

The fights went almost exactly as she remembered them. The teme beat one of Orochimaru's spies by ripping off one of Rock Lee's techniques. The pink-haired bitch her Naruto had been in love with when he was younger fought to a draw with the blond that she remembered Shikamaru had ultimately married. Temari her self had defeated TenTen with ease. She had admittedly been a bit nicer in disabling the girl though.

The first major change came when Naruto fought against Kiba. Naruto seemed to be determined to prove something, even more so than usual. A couple of minutes into the fight, when Kiba had gotten a lucky hit in and had Naruto surrounded, she caught the blond boy looking up at her and then steeling his gaze back at Kiba.

Temari's eyes widened in surprise as she finally understood why Naruto was striving so hard. It was because of _her_! The slight changes she had caused by asking the blond boy out, by admitting to liking him and downright flirting with him, had reached through that thick head of his. Somewhere inside Naruto had realized that he had a strong kunoichi here who for some reason unknown to him liked him and he was determined to prove him self worthy. She would have laughed at the utter boyishness of showing off to win a mate if she wasn't completely ecstatic that she had begun to win her love once again.

Grinning, she leant forward over the edge of the railing.

"Go Naruto! You can beat him! Come on! Show him what you're made of!!"

Temari was pleased to note the looks of confusion on the faces of many of the Konoha shinobi, both genin and otherwise. She smirked. Let them wonder what was going on, she didn't care. She was on her way to having the love of her life back, and she wouldn't let anything get in her way.

* * *

The second major diversion was during Lee's fight with Gaara. Temari had spoken with her brother before the matches and asked him to restrain him self during the fight, and while he was reluctant he had agreed to do so. This did not make the fight any less epic, but Lee was a hell of a lot less injured by the time his sensei stepped in to end the match. Temari silently thanked Kami that her brother had listened to her request, as Lee had been one of Naruto's closest and most loyal friends in the future, and if she could save him from the pain of being told he could never be a ninja again then she would. Besides, the chances he would have survived the surgery a second time were very slim, and she didn't want to risk that chance.

As she watched Lee being carried out on a stretcher she smiled faintly before turning to her brother as he reappeared on the balcony next to her. Embracing him in a hug she whispered quietly in his ear.

"Thank you."

Temari would curse many years later when she finally found out that she had missed the first true smile her little brother had ever shed.

* * *

Temari and the other victors were being escorted from the tower and back to Konoha when she felt someone tug on her arm. Stopping she turned to find Naruto there with a nervous smile on his face. Smiling Temari stopped walking.

"Ne, Temari. Thanks for the encouragement back there." Naruto said, his smile solidifying as he realized Temari was smiling back, and not one of those fake smiles that never really reaches a person's eyes either. A real, honest-to-god smile.

"Any time Naruto. I knew you had it in you. You are my foxy ninja after all." Temari leant down and kissed him on the cheek again before turning to follow the rest of the genin.

Naruto remained still, his hand rising to rub his cheek again before he smiled and chased after Temari. His question could wait until he had a chance to ask her in private. Anyone who loved ramen and smiled with pure honesty couldn't be bad.

* * *

It was getting late by the time they reached Konoha and dispersed to return to their respective lodgings. Temari was planning to make a beeline for the famous hot springs run by the Hyuuga Clan that were situated in the village, but was stopped by a certain emo duck-butt teme before she could leave the group.

"You are a most extremely strong and attractive kunoichi, Sabaku no Temari, not to mention the daughter of a Kage," He began without preamble. "and I am Uchiha Sasuke, sole heir to the powerful Uchiha clan. You would be doing me a great honor if you would join me for dinner tonight. I can treat you to the most expensive restaurants in Konoha."

Temari snorted at his attempt to interest her in dinner with his status and rank within the village.

"And why should I care about any of that, Uchiha?" She asked with mild disdain in her voice. Her refusal to use his first name did not go unnoticed. As Sasuke paused for a moment to collect him self, having not even entertained the possibility that she would not immediately say yes, Temari caught sight of Naruto over his shoulder. The blond boy had stopped dead in his tracks and she saw emotions flitting across his face that she had hoped never to see again.

Worry, fear, betrayal, anger, depression.

Before she could react Naruto ran past and disappeared down a side street as she watched in shock and dismay. Snarling, Temari spun on Sasuke.

"You little shit! Thanks to you the man I love just ran off because he's figuring that now that I have some punk-ass clan member like you asking me out that I'm just going to turn around and leave him! Well FUCK THAT! I love Naruto and I'm not letting anyone, least of all a little shit-eating snake-loving turd like you ruin this for me! Not again!" She practically screamed at the blindsided Uchiha heir.

Temari was completely oblivious to the mixture of confused and thoughtful looks of the shinobi around them as she turned on her heel and sped off to search for Naruto.

_Please let him be fleeing to his safe spot! Please Kami, let him be where I can reach him!_

As she disappeared into Konoha's streets heading for the Hokage monument Temari didn't notice the tears that were streaming down her face.

* * *

Temari found Naruto half an hour later sitting with his arms wrapped around his knees, crying as he looked out over Konoha. Wiping a few tears from her own eyes Temari quietly walked over and sat down next to Naruto before the blond boy even registered her presence. Naruto turned his head and his eyes widened in surprise as he saw Temari sitting next to him, staring off at the setting sun with a sad smile on her face. Through his surprise Naruto couldn't help but notice how pretty she looked with the fading sunlight illuminating her face.

After several long moments Temari blinked and turned to face Naruto, favoring him with a small smile. Her sad smile reached up to her teal eyes, which were still glistening with the remains of the tears she had been shedding as she searched for Naruto. She thankfully had no make up smears, as she had no make up to smear.

"Why are you here?" Naruto asked, still surprised that she had followed him.

Temari giggled and wiped another tear from her eye. "You know, sometimes you really are an idiot."

Temari smiled again and before Naruto could react leant in, resting her forehead against his.

"I like you Naruto, more than you can possibly understand right now. Please, don't ever run off like that again." Temari chuckled. "I was about to turn that bastard down. Hell, he was so arrogant it was like he expected me to say yes immediately just because of who his family was. Can you believe that?"

Naruto chuckled and smiled. Both blonds grew silent and as they gazed into each other's eyes, Temari losing her self in Naruto's bright blue orbs and Naruto losing him self in Temari's teal eyes. Ever slow slowly their faces began to drift together, Temari's lips pursing in anticipation of the kiss. They were just about to connect when there was a swirl of leaves and Hatake Kakashi appeared on top of the monument a few feet away. Naruto pulled back immediately, his face burning red in embarrassment. Temari practically growled and she turned to glare at Kakashi.

"Why is it that you Sharingan bastards always seem to ruin the best moments of my life?" She bit out, drawing a surprised look from Naruto and a raised eyebrow from Kakashi.

"I'm not quite sure I know what you mean miss. But as Naruto's instructor, I feel that I must look out for his best interests. I must ask that you cease your interest in him and return to your teammates at once." The silver-haired Jounin did his best to sound polite and convincing.

Temari growled again as she stood up and approached the Jounin. "Now see here you pompous ass. I don't give a damn what you think. You've never done a damn thing to look out for Naruto's best interests before this, and I sincerely doubt you'll ever do so again. Let me guess, that bastard Uchiha complained about my behavior and my 'untoward' interest in Naruto, right?"

Seeing genuine confusion in his eyes she continued. "No, that isn't it, is it? No, I bet it was that thrice-damned council who ordered you to interfere. What, are they afraid that some foreign power might influence their damn 'demon' into betraying the village?"

Temari ignored the immense widening of Kakashi's eye and the sudden gasp that came from Naruto behind her.

_Please love, bear with me. I promise I will explain everything as soon as I can._

"That's a laugh. Naruto has never been anything but loyal to this thrice-damned village, even after all the crap they've heaped on him year after year. And yet they still treat him like trash. And no, no one broke your village's damn law. I've known about Naruto's secret for almost a year. I know a lot about your village, knowledge that NO ONE else in Suna has or will ever receive. And do you know why?"

Temari stepped backwards and took a deep breath before continuing more softly. "Because I love Naruto, and there is no way in hell I am giving him up, to anyone."

Temari spun and grabbed Naruto, pulling him into a kiss before Kakashi or Naruto could react. She could feel Naruto remain still in surprise for several long seconds before what was happening sank in. Slowly she felt him clumsily return the kiss, causing her to smile into it.

The kiss lasted thirty seconds, and both blonds were too wrapped up in it to see the massive sweat drop on Kakashi's forehead. When they finally broke the kiss Temari remained with her forehead leaning against Naruto's for a few moments before smiling sadly and turning to look at Kakashi.

"Listen, for reasons I can't explain here I know a little about events that are soon to transpire. I was going to find a way to arrange a discreet meeting with the Hokage anyways, so you being here will just make it easier. I'm assuming you can get us in to see him without anyone, my teammates included, knowing about it?" Temari asked, her tone serious. Kakashi noted that she still had one arm around Naruto and that her other hand was held tightly in Naruto's.

Kakashi frowned and nodded. "Yes, I can. But once we are there you are going to explain how you know about Naruto."

Temari's eyes twinkled. "Gladly."

* * *

Within the back of Naruto's mind the Kyuubi was becoming restless. He could feel the power that had been placed within this female that was interested in his host. He could hear the siren's call of a demonic pact, and as much as he feared learning what could possibly have convinced him to sign such a pact with this female, he also wanted to know what could possibly threaten him to such a degree that he would make such a pact. It wouldn't be the first time a demon had made a pact involving the transference of another's memories through time after all, just the first time that one had been forced to do so to a point before he had made the decision to do so. All the previous occasions had involved long term threats to either the theirs or the planet's survival, and they had always chosen the host of the pact well before the memories would eventually arrive.

Demons after all, keep their word. It's the one thing you can always count on with them.

* * *

AN: Here it is folks, the first chapter. Please, tell me what you think. Love it? Hate it? I'd like to know. Hopefully it's clear to people that this story will be tying very much with canon. I had at least one question in the reviews of the prologue I put up a few days ago asking if I will be revealing information on the original timeline. The short answer is yes. The long answer is that there will be references to events in the original timeline as well as the occasional flashback. I am also considering writing a story for the original timeline, running from the beginning of Temari and Naruto's original courtship until the pact with the Kyuubi, once I finish Desert Fox Redux.

As with all my fics, please Read and Review. It is the best way for me to really know what you all think, and to know what kind of readership my stories are really getting. It's a useful feedback mechanism for me to develop my writing ability better to create even better stories.

Until next time, Jaa ne!

-ZI

**Review Responses**

Thetrueking – I'll try my best, but the simple fact is that knowledge wise they will both have over a decade of additional experience. On top of that, Naruto will remember the Kage Bunshin training method. Their physical strength, chakra control, and chakra capacities though will not improve insanely drastically though. Its one thing to have the knowledge, quite another to have the endless hours of training to be able to implement it.

Sweet Heavens – Yeah, I know. It was an idea that coalesced and the first small pair of scenes was just so perfect on its own that I decided to toss it up stand alone as I worked on the first actual chapter. I guess I probably could have called it a Teaser instead of a Prologue, ne?

X-219 – Ask and ye shall receive. (well, not really. But in this case it was the first of the under-construction chapters to be complete)

Innerstruggle88 – Yes, as you can see from this chapter. The Prologue takes place on August 23rd, a month and a half roughly before Naruto steals the forbidden scroll. For those who don't know what that means, that is Temari's fifteenth birthday.

Naruhina-otaku – Yes, I'm inclined to agree. The couple I have read (one unfortunately has been defunct for several years *sadface* ) always make me smile. I've reread two of my favorites, "Never Cut Twice" by Shadowmaster62 and "An Uzumaki Amongst the Dunes" by pudgypudge (the latter of which is still updating, the former of which is long since completed) several times. "Never Cut Twice" is always a good read when I need that perfect mix of humor and seriousness.

Warper – Perhaps, but it was what felt right as I was writing. Though now that I look back on it I maybe should have called it a Teaser instead, but oh well. Such is life. And its not just holiday prep, but major stress trying to find a job, that has been impacting my writing. The reason this story had such a tiny start is because those first two small scenes just felt right on their own, leaving the next set of events to begin the first real chapter. When I write chapters, as I've explained before in my other fics, I write them until they feel right, not until some preordained length. It may have seemed small to all of you, but those two small scenes on their own just felt too right to me on their own.

I've yet to encounter a fic with Sakura in this situation, but I don't doubt that one exists. And I haven't encountered one with Temari either, and since I liked the idea of her coming back with the memories and seeking out her lover to make him hers again, I ran with it. The idea has developed much farther from that simple premise, and I will really enjoy writing this one.

Redux is a term meaning "Brought back" or "returned". It's the term that I use to refer to these sorts of "do-over" fics, and especially since I am planning to most likely write "Desert Fox" itself once "Redux" is completed, I felt it was a fitting name for the fic.

As I answered mostly above in the authors note, yes, there will be both mentions and flashbacks that show events and stages in their original relationship. The wedding will most likely not be shown, but that is because I want to save that for when I write the prequel. And no, major information on the events that led to this situation will become evident very rapidly. I won't say too much though, because I don't want to spoil what I have in store.

And yes, Naruto is going to get his memories, but it is part of the pact with the Kyuubi. There is also a complication involved in the actual transference, which will become apparent shortly. Let's just say, Temari needs the assistance of a certain Seal Master in order to effect the transfer.

Hmm…looks like your review ran out of space or sent before you completed it. Haha.

Jbalman – Thanks. "Blonds Have More Fun" is personally one of my top three favorite fics by EroSlacker (tying with the one with Naruto, the vampire, and the earthbender and with Team Sharingan), and is in my top ten favorite fics of all time. The only reason it doesn't rate top five is I have read some absolutely outstanding fics, and they hold onto their spots with a viciousness like you wouldn';t believe.

Chm01 – Thank you.

Bobboky - ^_^

Sh8ad8ow – Shrugs. Well, can't please everybody.

Ymere – Truth be told, I can see Naruto with a large number of the characters, but the situation needs to set it up properly. Once he is older, I definitely see him having better chances with the blonds, but only because they are strong enough, independent enough, and crazy enough in their own ways to put up with him.

Jamez-08 – Naruto and Temari end up together fairly quickly once they meet, but there is no way Temari is waiting longer than she ahs to. There will be no super-fast-grow-up-deus-ex-machina though. They will have to train their physical abilities one day at a time like everyone else. Just because Naruto KNOWS how to perform a series of advanced aerial attacks, doesn't mean his body will be remotely capable of it without months at least of training. Training to improve his chakra control and his use of jutsus and techniques though, well, he has the Kage bunshin method for that. But as I said, physical stats will still require the normal training. After all, Kage bunshin can't train his muscles to be stronger.

And yeah, he would have been stunning, but I doubt that he would have been able to force Neji to admit that Naruto was better. He would definitely have had an easier time of the match though.

Kensington – Why thank you. I much appreciate the praise, and I hope that I do not disappoint.

WINDxNINJA – Thank you.

BackYard – Well, hope you enjoy this, the first actual chapter.


	3. Chapter 3

Desert Fox Redux

A story by Zaion Indulias

Chapter 2: A History that Never Was and the Future that Will Be

As Temari finished her story the blond kunoichi closed her mouth and looked over at the boy sitting by her side. Like the others in the room the young boy was looking at her with a mixture of shock, incredulity, and fear in his eyes. If what she had told them was true, then all of them, every single person in that room, had died. In a future that had yet to happen. In a future that thanks to Temari's actions would now never have to happen.

The silence in the room was deafening, and Temari had no doubt that should a mouse make a peep it would promptly find itself being killed six ways to Sunday in an instant. Finally, after nearly a minute of everyone just staring at her, she sighed and stood up from where she had been sitting next to Naruto on the couch in the large office. Turning before anyone could react she dropped onto Naruto, embracing the still shocked blond boy in a hug, muttering "I'm sorry" over and over again as she buried her tear-filled face into his chest. The other four inhabitants of the room, including the blond boy she was currently clinging onto for dear life, stared at her in shock, not quite sure what to do.

Sarutobi Hiruzen still hadn't gotten over the news that he had supposedly died in this future that the Suna kunoichi claimed she had lived; and that his old student Orochimaru had been the one to kill him.

Hatake Kakashi could not believe that his student, the last of the loyal Uchiha, could possibly have betrayed Konoha. His eyes narrowed and the only thought in his head was '_this must be a trick'_.

Morino Ibiki attempted to keep his stoic mask up on his face, but inwardly he was shook up. The knowledge she had presented as proof of her story had included facts about himself that no one could possibly have known, facts that only the Hokage himself had ever known.

And Uzumaki Naruto, the fourth and final occupant of the room next to Temari her self, had the most to absorb. This girl who held him in her arms and was crying claimed that she was his wife. That they had met when he was older, fallen in love, gotten married, and lived relatively happily until his teammate Sasuke betrayed him.

_But Sasuke's my teammate! He's like a brother to me! He even said he wanted to face me in the finals!_

But then Naruto looked down at Temari's tear-filled eyes as the blond girl paused in her sobbing to look up at him. He saw loneliness there, a need that he understood quite well. He saw the raw desire and need she had for him- no, not just for him, but for his acceptance and understanding as well. All too well he recognized that look, one which he had seen in the mirror far too often when he was younger. This girl, this gorgeous girl who made him wonder why he had ever been interested in Sakura in the first place, wanted _him!_ She needed _him_, no one else!

Slowly Naruto leant his head down as his arms closed around Temari's back, his grip firm but reassuring. The occupants of the room watched silently with baited breath as the couple's lips brushed lightly against one another. The kiss lasted for only a moment, but when the pair broke apart Hiruzen Sarutobi could see that Temari was smiling once again.

"I love you, Naruto." She whispered softly as she leant her head back against his chest and snuggled in against his body. "And I always will. That's my promise of a lifetime."

As the two blonds curled up on the couch in the Hokage's office, drifting off to sleep after the mental and emotional exhaustion they had just suffered, the Sandaime ushered Ibiki and Kakashi quietly into his small private study. Once they were inside he closed the door securely behind him and channeled some of his chakra into an innocuous spot on the wall, triggering the privacy seals that the Yondaime had placed around the room before his death.

"Now, I feel this goes without saying, but I must say it anyways to make sure you both fully understand. What has been discussed here is an S-Rank secret. Should you _ever_ repeat a word to anyone, or even mention this meeting, I will have you declared a missing-nin and bring all the forces at my command down upon you."

Sarutobi Hiruzen's voice was strong and full of power, despite the fact that he was still quite shaken by the revelations that had been presented to him by the young daughter of the Yondaime Kazekage. He would still need to investigate some of the information she had given him, but every instinct in his body told him that the girl had been telling the truth. Her emotion had been too real, too wild and unrestrained to have been false. He would bet the lives of the entire village of Konoha that that girl loved Naruto unreservedly and with her entire heart, and that everything she had said was the truth as she knew it.

"But Hokage-sama, she's an enemy. And the wild accusations she has made against loyal Konoha shinobi, frankly I find them offensive." Kakashi's responded to his Hokage. The Hatake was most certainly not pleased that his prized student had been so maligned by the blond girl, nor with the undue attention she was showing towards Naruto.

"That is enough, Hatake." Ibiki said as he cut the silver-haired Jounin off. "The boy is impressive, and I am beginning to think that his relative lack of skill is not from any lack of ability, but either a lack of proper training…or perhaps even active attempts to _sabotage_ his training."

The scarred Tokubetsu Jounin who ran the Torture and Interrogation division of the ANBU stared pointedly at Kakashi.

"You wouldn't happen to know anything about that, would you, Hatake-san?"

Ibiki's voice did not sound friendly.

Kakashi swallowed before replying.

"I have trained my students in teamwork and chakra control. Also, I am going to train Sasuke in the use of the Shunshin and the Chidori for the finals of the exam."

As the Hokage regarded a portrait of the Yondaime with a thoughtful expression on his face Kakashi smirked at Ibiki. His smirk was promptly wiped from his face as Ibiki spoke again.

"I notice that you have not mentioned anything about actually training all of your students to fight. And even if you might want to focus on the two who are competing in the finals more exclusively for the next month, you didn't mention a thing about Naruto. That tells me that your focus is on teaching the Uchiha, and that any training you give Naruto is an afterthought."

Ibiki was if nothing else, extremely fucking perceptive.

"Is this true, Kakashi?" The Hokage asked as he turned away from the poster he was contemplating. He did not look happy. "Have you really been neglecting your _teacher's_ son in favor of training the Uchiha."

Kakashi just stared right back. "With all due respect, Hokage-sama, Naruto will never be anything more than a cut rate shinobi. He is better used as a rival to drive Sasuke to train harder until such time as Sasuke masters his Sharingan and then relegated to duties guarding unimportant areas of Konoha. I will not be training him for the finals as Sasuke requires all of my attention, but I already have someone lined up to train him for the next month."

Kakashi was banking on the Hokage accepting his reports of Naruto's abilities and agreeing with his point of view.

"Very well. Hatake Kakashi, until the finals you are currently assigned to train Uchiha Sasuke at your discretion. However, _I_ will make arrangements for your other two students to receive training during this period. You are dismissed, and are hereby under orders to forget everything that happened here tonight. Should I find out that there has been a leak, I will hold you personally responsible."

Kakashi smiled behind his mask before nodding and exiting the room. As he left the Hokage's office he didn't spare the sleeping blond couple wrapped in each other's arms on the couch a first glance, much less a second.

Back in the study the Hokage waited for the door to close behind Kakashi and for the privacy seals to reengage. Once he was sure that they were secure he turned to face Ibiki.

"I want you to put together an analysis of Haruno Sakura's capabilities. Determine what training she would most benefit from, and present to me a list of possible Jounin who can be assigned as her instructor, at least temporarily." The Hokage said firmly. "After these exams are over, Hatake Kakashi will neither be in command of or responsible for Haruno Sakura or Uzumaki Naruto. He has proven incapable of training them properly, and thus they will be assigned instructors appropriate for their abilities."

Ibiki smirked at how skillfully his Hokage had played Hatake Kakashi. By seemingly agreeing with Kakashi's position the silver-haired Jounin was now out of the way, and by the time he might even consider complaining about the events that had been set in motion, both of his neglected students would be firmly out of his control.

Sarutobi regarded the Yondaime's picture one last time before nodding silently to himself and turning back to Ibiki.

"I want you to issue standing orders to the ANBU. Jiraiya of the Sannin should be arriving shortly if he is not already in Konoha. I want him found and brought to me as soon as possible. Tell them to keep their eyes open around the public baths as he tends to spend a lot of his time peeping on the women bathing there." The Sandaime said in the tone of voice his subordinates dubbed "The Professor" after his nickname. "I also want you to issue standing orders to Alpha Division. They are to begin tracking the movements and activities of certain individuals who have been revealed to be disloyal to Konoha."

Ibiki nodded, his face stern as always. He did not say anything, as long years of service had taught him to anticipate when his Hokage still had more to say.

"If everything that that girl has said is true, then there may be a way to help Naruto, and to make up for all the mistakes I have made. But as Temari told us her self, the seals are apparently quite complex. I highly doubt that she has the ability to transcribe them properly, and the slightest mistake could doom them both." Sarutobi sighed. "I want you to select a skilled member of the Yamanaka Clan, one who you can trust with your life. If this is going to have any hope of success then we will need to use their clan techniques to transfer the image of the seals from Sabaku no Temari's mind directly into Jiraiya's."

As the Hokage finished speaking he turned to regard the portrait of the Yondaime again, dismissing Ibiki with a wave of his hand. He felt no need to add any further orders, as he trusted Ibiki with his life and knew that the stern man would do everything he had asked of him. As his underling exited the room a single tear dripped from the Sandaime Hokage's right eye.

_I'm sorry, Minato. I failed to do as you wished, and I fear that Konoha may one day lose your legacy forever._

The Sandaime Hokage had known Naruto his entire life, and he had no illusions as to what drove the blue-eyed blond. The blond boy may very well have found his soul mate, and if that was true, then Sarutobi Hiruzen was certain that it was just a matter of time before Naruto would be forced to make the decision between his love and his village.

Back in the main part of his office Naruto and Temari slept on, blind to the world around them as they silently snuggled together for warmth and comfort.

* * *

When the Hokage woke him an hour later Naruto attempted to rub the sleep from his eyes when he realized that he was pinned and that someone had his arm in a death grip. He immediately tensed, but after a few moments he realized that whoever the figure was wasn't moving. Opening his eyes he looked down at the body that laid draped across him, taking in the blond hair and sleeping features of Temari as the memories of the last several hours came flooding back. Blinking in confusion for several moments Naruto just stared at the girl as she too came awake, stretching almost like a cat before meeting his eyes. To the surprise of Naruto and the Hokage the blond girl merely smiled, leant in, and kissed Naruto lightly on the lips.

When she didn't break the kiss for several long seconds Sarutobi cleared his throat to get their attention. The pair of blonds immediately shot apart, both of them turning bright red in embarrassment, but for different reasons. Temari was normally a very private person, so being caught in such an intimate moment by anyone, much less a man with the power of a Kage, was highly embarrassing to her.

Naruto on the other hand was thankful she had moved as the kiss had triggered a very noticeable biological reaction. He was also very thankful that his baggy clothes concealed it from the Hokage's view as well.

"I believe that it is about time for Sabaku-san to be heading home. If she remains here any later her teammates might become suspicious."

The Hokage watched as the blond girl's eyes fell at the realization that she needed to separate from the boy she claimed to love and as Naruto's eyes fell too.

_That boy, he's fallen completely in love with her, for a second time if all she told us was true. I have no doubt in my mind that if he were forced to choose between her and anyone else that she would be the one he saved._

"I will personally get you out of the building without anyone knowing you had been here. I want you to meet Naruto at noon at Ichiraku's in three days time. Hopefully by then I should have everything gathered to determine if what you have told me is the truth. If the facts check out, then we may be able to extract those seals from your mind so that Konoha's greatest seal master can study them and if he thinks it is safe apply them to the both of you. As long as you both do not give away the events of this evening, any contact you have before then will be at your own discretion."

The look of unabashed happiness on Temari's face as the blond kunoichi spun and grabbed Naruto's head in her hands as she kissed him brought a smile to Sarutobi's wrinkled face.

* * *

To Temari the following three days felt like a dream. Her teammates, having been used to her disappearing for hours on end to train on her own or reflect on her memories, had not even bothered to ask her where she had been. Baki trusted her, Kankuro was afraid of her, and Gaara knew that whatever she was up to was her business and no one else's.

She had awoken early the next morning and promptly showered and gathered her gear to head out. She had immediately made a beeline for Ichiraku's and sure enough she found Naruto sitting there eating a bowl of ramen. She was about to run to him and embrace him in a hug when she noticed that he was hunched over in his seat and his eyes were down cast.

"What's wrong Naruto?" She asked as she quietly slid into the seat next to him, worry evident on her face as Naruto tensed momentarily. Then, much to her surprise – and her pleasure – the blond boy spun in his seat and leant across to her, kissing her firmly on the lips. The kiss was sloppy and clumsy but it made her smile because it was Naruto, _her_ Naruto kissing her, and she didn't care how unskilled it was.

Temari smiled into the kiss before Naruto pulled back and looked sheepishly at the ground.

"Um, good morning, Temari." Naruto said as he flushed red.

Temari slid off of her stool but paused as Naruto tensed at her movement. Then memories of the way the Uchiha's whore had always treated Naruto flooded into her mind and she realized why he had tensed. He was afraid that she was going to hit him for kissing her.

_Well, I better disabuse him of that notion right now_.

Naruto's eyes widened in surprise as Temari's arms wrapped around him and he found her kissing him again. Completely oblivious to the surprised looks that Ayame and her father were shooting them and the looks of disgust or hatred that various passerbys were shooting them Naruto and Temari embraced one another, a mismatched but oh-so-perfect couple.

Across the street a dark-haired teen clenched his fist and his jaw before he turned and stomped away.

_I will find Kakashi and make him teach me what I need to defeat Naruto in the finals. I'll prove myself the stronger and then I will make that woman my own._

The Uchiha's laughter as he stalked away took on a slightly insane characteristic.

* * *

When the third day finally came around Temari could find no sign of Naruto. She had been told to meet him at Ichiraku's at noon though, so she just assumed that he was being kept busy by the Hokage for whatever reason. It still made her feel lonely, since she had grown used to having him close once more, even if he was still a young idiot in serious need of some maturity.

As she wandered around the village, bored without her foxy ninja and his over-the-top energy she eventually became aware of four presences trailing her. Three were blatantly obvious, and she had caught the trio out of the corner of her eye on numerous occasions.

_Seems that Konohamaru and his friends are curious about me. I bet it's because I'm all over his rival._ Temari thought to herself with a small smirk. The way Konohamaru had looked up to her husband in the future had cemented her appreciation of the kid, even if he could be an idiotic brat like her foxy ninja.

The other presence was much harder to track, and she was only certain it was there because she had felt a brief chakra flare at one point when she had spun in an attempt to catch whoever it was had been following her.

The further through the village she went though the greater her suspicions became. Finally she ducked down an alley and used a technique that her husband and lover had taught her in the future. She didn't really have the chakra capacity yet to use it effectively in combat, but it would serve its purpose well here.

"Kage Bunshin no Jutsu." She whispered softly as she formed a cross-shaped seal that always brought up memories of Naruto when he was in his element, fighting to protect those precious to him.

Temari hid herself and let the clone take her place walking out of the other end of the alley. With a little luck her mysterious pursuer would follow the clone thinking it was really her, and she could figure out who it was and what their interest in her was.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later Temari stood before a shaking Hyuuga Hinata. The blond girl had been surprised when her mysterious follower had not followed the shadow clone but rather made a beeline straight towards her. She had been even more surprised when the dark-haired girl had finally confronted her in another alley, shaking with repressed emotion.

"Y…who are you?! What are you t-to my Nar-Narut-to my Naruto-kun!!!?"

Temari blinked in surprised.

_I knew she had this inner strength and resolve when she was older, but who would have guessed it reached this far back into her past. She must have loved Naruto fully well before this._

Temari knew full well that in her original life, Hyuuga Hinata had been the one romantic obstacle that had stood between her and Naruto's love. The girl had loved Naruto with all her heart, and when Temari and he had begun dating the girl had snapped. She had tried everything to break them apart, even attempting to drug Naruto and trick him into sleeping with her in order to make Temari think he had cheated on her, and even going so far as to-

_No, no, I will NOT remember that. I will NOT!!!_

Temari had to fight the tears that threatened to come as she briefly remembered what had been one of the worst experiences of her entire life…and the reason she would burn the entire world to the ground to protect her Naruto.

Temari's harsher personality aspects came forth as she attempted to head the problem off at the pass. No way in hell would she allow the surprisingly strong-willed Hyuuga heiress to interfere with her and Naruto's relationship a second time around.

"I am his mate, his lover, his soul mate. And you, Hyuuga Hinata, better learn to accept that."

The dark-haired girl with the pale eyes that was Hyuuga Hinata paled even further at this announcement.

_No! It can't be! I'm supposed to get Naruto! Me, not this foreign fangirl bitch, ME!! I'm the one who's always cheered him on from the sidelines, I'm the one he cheered on to win during the exams, I'm the one who's always seen how amazing he is. Me, me, ME!!_

Temari just gazed at Hinata coldly as she watched the emotions play across the normally soft-spoken girl's face. Finally Hinata spoke, her voice cracking from the intense emotion she was fighting to control.

"NO!! I won't accept that!! Naruto-kun is mine, do you here me?! I won't let some foreign trash come marching into Konoha and steal my love from me!! I will win his heart from you, just you watch!!" The girl screamed.

Hinata spun and ran away. Temari smirked and narrowed her eyes.

_I bet she's gone to look for Naruto, or to ask her fellow kunoichi for advice. Either way, it won't help her. Naruto-kun is mine twice over._

Silently Temari prayed to whatever god was watching out for her in thanks that Naruto had fallen for her of his own will a second time, without suffering a devastating tragedy to bind them irrevocably.

She wasn't sure that she would have remained sane had fate thrown her that curveball again.

* * *

Temari arrived at Ichiraku's at five minutes to twelve to find Naruto already waiting for her. The blond boy looked glum until he saw her approaching. When he caught sight of her his face brightened into a wide smile and he shot out of his stool, racing towards her and tackling her into a hug before she had a chance to react. Temari chuckled and smiled down at the shorter blond as she ruffled his unruly blond hair.

"Careful, my foxy ninja. You won't always be scrawnier than me. If you aren't careful you could hurt me doing that." She said as _her_ Naruto-kun smiled up at her. She distinctly remembered tackling him in just such a manner on their wedding night, only there was a distinct lack of clothes at the time and Naruto had been standing in front of a bed.

"Now, let's get some lunch before you lead me wherever we're supposed to go. I'm starving and some of Ichiraku's ramen sounds perfect to me right now."

If she hadn't witnessed it her self once long ago Temari would have sworn that Naruto's smile couldn't have been bigger.

The pair hurried back to Ichiraku's and dug into their meal with abandon. Temari had missed breakfast so she was almost keeping up with Naruto. She was on her tenth bowl when she finally had enough to eat, but rather than suggest they leave she just sat there and smiled as she watched Naruto dig into another eighteen bowls. She was pretty certain he must have missed breakfast as well, because he hadn't eaten nearly that many during any of their other dates over the past several days.

Finally Naruto had finished and with a happy cry of "thanks for the food" and after tossing money on the counter to pay for both his and her food (apparently the Hokage had given Naruto money to pay for their food and other expenses during the three day wait) he grabbed Temari by the hand and then took off at a breakneck pace for the Hokage's tower. It was only her training as a ninja that allowed Temari to keep up rather than being dragged through the air like some sort of human-shaped kite.

* * *

When they finally reached the Hokage's tower Temari was surprised when Naruto dragged her straight through the front doors and up to the Hokage's office. She kept shouting at him, asking why they weren't sneaking in, but all he would say was that "she would see when we get there. The old man's been really cool."

Temari had just sighed and shook her head as they crested the final set of stairs. The same old Naruto, always so impulsive and such a prankster at heart…she wouldn't change him for the world.

When the blond ignored the angry shouts of the Hokage's secretary and burst into the room she chuckled and flicked the teenage girl the bird. She remembered the bitch from one particular incident in the future where she had attempted to pick Naruto up in a bar. It had of course failed, since Naruto remembered the treatment she had always given before everyone had known that he was the son of the Yondaime.

What she saw when they entered the office made her blood run cold as glacial melt.

The Sandaime was standing in front of his desk. He was flanked by the tall stern man she remembered from the first meeting, a tall blond man with a long ponytail, the psycho-woman from the second exam, and a grey-haired man with long spiky hair who eyed her trim figure lecherously.

_Yamanaka Inoichi, Morino Ibiki, Mitarashi Anko, Jiraiya._ She mentally named the four shinobi before her. She had gotten to know Ibiki and Anko quite well in her previous life. Inoichi she knew in passing, as he was rumored to have been an expert interrogator in his younger days and was the father of one of Naruto's friends. And Jiraiya, she had never had the honor of actually holding a conversation with the man. He had died fighting Pein before she had ever begun dating Naruto.

But it was the other three occupants of the room who had made her blood run cold and made her tense up. Her hand was halfway to drawing her weapons when the Hokage spoke.

"There is no need for that, Sabaku-san. I assure you that you are safe."

Temari looked towards the remaining three members and analyzed their faces.

Kankuro was smirking, inwardly impressed by how sneaky his sister had been.

Gaara was frowning as he looked at her and Naruto, but it was a contemplative frown. He was still attempting to understand what the Hokage had told them, and at the same time he was attempting to determine whether this…boy who stood before him was really worthy of his sister.

And Baki was standing, his face stern and emotionless as he crossed his arms before him. But his eyes spoke a different story, and Temari finally relaxed.

"Genin Temari." Baki began formally. "The Sandaime Hokage of Konohagakure has informed us that you are in possession of information indicating that the Kazekage of Sunagakure has been replaced by Orochimaru of the Sannin. These men are here to determine the veracity of your claim."

Temari glared at the Hokage for a moment.

"So you didn't believe me? You didn't trust me?" She asked angrily.

The Hokage, surprising her, smiled.

"Quite the contrary, Sabaku-san. It is precisely because we trust you that we have arranged this. Yamanaka Inoichi will use a technique that will link your mind with Baki's. Inoichi will not experience any of your memories, but rather form the link that will allow you to share your proof with Baki."

Temari's glare slowly disappeared as she understood what the Hokage hadn't said.

_It can also be used afterwards to connect my mind…with Jiraiya's._

Temari smiled as she realized that she may be closer to getting her Naruto back than she had hoped.

"Very well then." She said, taking Naruto's hand again and clasping it tightly. She stepped forward and stood at attention. "Let's get this over with then."

After receiving a nod from the Hokage Inoichi stepped forward and performed a series of hand seals before reaching his hands out and taking hold of both Temari and Baki's wrists. To the occupants of the room it merely looked as if a faint haze of chakra spread from his hands onto their arms and their eyes glazed over. To the two involved, it was as if they were suddenly sucked into a sudden impenetrable blackness.

After a few moments of heart pounding fear Temari found herself standing in a small nondescript room. There were two chairs and a table in the center of the room and the walls, floor, and ceiling were a light tan. As she watched Baki materialized on the other side of the table, shaking his head to clear it. When he saw her he finally smiled before stepping forward and taking the seat before him. Temari eyed him warily and then took the other seat.

The two sat there, staring at one another in silence before Baki finally spoke.

"I know that you didn't have the best relationship with your father, Temari. I know you hated him, for what he did to your mother and your brother. And I know that you feel no sadness at his loss. This is merely a formality, to satisfy that interrogator of the Hokage's, Ibiki. I have not raised you to be deceitful, not to your own teammates and village. If you say you have proof that Kazekage-sama has been killed and replaced then I believe you. And I will do everything I can to assist Konoha in silently preparing for the invasion. The better prepared they are, the better the chance we will be able to save Suna lives and prevent an all out war that could destroy our beloved village." Baki said.

Temari opened her eyes wide in surprise. Baki's words had amounted as much to treason as her own actions had, should they be caught before they proved that the Kazekage had already been killed. After a moment she smirked and then reached across the table to grasp Baki's hand.

"Then trust me now, Baki-sensei, and see what I have seen."

With that there was a flash of orange and memories began to enter Baki's mind.

* * *

Naruto held onto Temari's hand tightly as he watched her face in worry. There was no sign of emotion, and her eyes were glazed over. This worried the blond boy, as he had begun to truly care for the girl who stood before him. She was bright and cheery, but with a fire that she didn't hesitate to unveil when something annoyed her. He could tell that she truly cared for him, and he could feel her love and passion when she kissed him. He could see it in her eyes and hear it in her voice. It amazed him how intense it was, and how intense the feelings she had created in him were.

It was nothing like the crush he had had on Sakura. Even now he could barely remember or understand why he had liked the pink-haired girl. Sure, she was cute and smart and spunky, but…she utterly treated him like crap. When he thought about it, she just used him, like many others had. Temari on the other hand cared for him and him alone. Hell, she had proven that when she had come looking for him after the Sasuke incident. She had been crying and worried about him. _Him,_ the village pariah. It was almost all he could do not to burst out laughing at the irony of it all.

When Temari finally blinked and Inoichi released her hand Naruto smiled and cheered, wrapping the taller girl in a hug. Temari smiled into the hug and shot a pointed look at Gaara when her younger brother started to look a little angry and sand began to drift slowly across the floor.

"That's enough of that, Gaara. I told you there was someone in this world I was seeking, and this is him. My Naruto, my foxy ninja, my love. I won't let anyone take him away from me. Not even you."

Temari leant down and kissed Naruto, smiling to her self as Naruto's kiss was a definite improvement from that first day on top of the Hokage's monument. The two lost themselves in the kiss as Baki shook himself back into reality and turned to address the Hokage.

"Hokage-sama, I formally offer my services as a spy and agent for Konoha for the duration of this crisis. Temari has proven to me conclusively that Suna has been betrayed by Orochimaru. As you have accused, we are planning an invasion working with Otogakure. However, it is now clear to me that this entire situation has been manipulated by Orochimaru. My only desire now is to prevent a war between Suna and Konoha, which I believe would be devastating for my people, and to save as many Suna lives as possible."

Baki knelt before the Hokage, surprising everyone in the room except for the old man.

"I am at your service, Hokage-sama."

That day the future of Konohagakure was changed. Whether it would be for the better would remain to be seen.

* * *

When the meeting with Baki had been completed the Suna-Jounin led his team out, loudly thanking the Hokage for acquiescing to his request of increased training space. It was necessary to conceal their arrangement until such time as the invasion actually began. It wouldn't do to tip off Orochimaru that they knew what he was up to.

Temari however had sent one of her Kage Bunshin off with them after reassuring her brothers that everything was ok. She just had a personal matter to discuss with Naruto and the Hokage. After giving Gaara a hug and reassuring the younger boy that she was _not_ under any sort of duress she turned her attention to the Hokage, waiting until the room was clear before she began to speak.

"So, I'm assuming that you plan to use Inoichi's ability to help with the other matter that we discussed." She said cryptically.

"There is no need for secrecy here, Temari. Inoichi is one of my most trusted shinobi, and any secrets he learns here today he will take to his grave." The Hokage replied with a reassuring smile.

Temari still looked iffy, but after a moment she nodded and sighed.

"Well, let's get this over with. I don't like the way the Ero-sennin is looking at me."

"Hey, I'm not a pervert!" Jiraiya said, taking a stance. "I'm a-"

"A super pervert, I know." Temari said with a glare. "Naruto told me everything he knew about you, because he looked up to you more than almost any other person in his life. But I warn you now, if I ever catch you eyeing me in the wrong way, Naruto won't even have a chance to defend my honor. There won't be enough of you left for them to identify the body. Is that clear?"

Despite their clear difference in age and power, Jiraiya still swallowed.

"Um, I'm a little confused, but, can we begin? I need to get home to help my wife plant some new flowers this afternoon." Inoichi interrupted, a bit confused and wondering just what the hell he had just gotten himself into.

Both Temari and Jiraiya stared at one another for several more long seconds before turning towards Inoichi and nodding. The pair of them held out their arms and Inoichi performed his jutsu once again. As soon as they felt it take hold Temari took a deep breath, preparing her self for dealing with Naruto's single most perverted teacher of all time.

* * *

The second mind-to-mind connection took far longer than the first had. Inoichi was beginning to get worried when he felt the two minds finally separate and the drain on his chakra began to wane. As soon as the two subjects' minds were securely back in their bodies he let the jutsu end and stepped back, dropping onto the couch in exhaustion. It had taken nearly a full hour for Jiraiya to get the memories of the seals, so as far as Inoichi was concerned that man had better appreciate it.

Temari nearly collapsed from the strain of standing in one place for nearly an hour, but luckily for her Naruto was there to catch her. Her foxy ninja wasn't able to break her fall completely, but he was able to drop to his knees behind her so that she fell into his arms.

"Hey." Temari said softly as she looked up into Naruto's bright blue eyes with exhaustion evident in her voice. "Next time, I want to be lying in your arms before I do that."

Temari closed her eyes and Naruto could feel the change in her as the blond girl drifted off into sleep. He just stared down at her, unsure of what to do.

"Here." Ibiki said as he walked over. The older man knelt and lifted Temari, carrying her over to the other couch. "I suggest you sit down and get comfortable. I'm sure that your lover here will want to wake up to find herself in her arms. Inoichi's technique can be a trying ordeal if experienced for too long a period of time."

_And the side effects of doing so often cause nightmares for a day or two in the subjects._

Naruto nodded and sat down, getting himself comfortable. As soon as he was he motioned for Ibiki to lay the blond girl down. When he was done Temari was laying on her back on the couch between Naruto's legs, her back against his stomach and her head nestled against his chest. Both Ibiki and the Hokage chuckled as they watched the blond girl roll onto her side and snuggle further against Naruto in her sleep, much to the confusion of the blond boy.

_It's not surprising this close contact unnerves him a little though, given the upbringing he had. It's hard for him to even hug someone when it isn't just an impulse driven by happy thoughts. If he has to think about it he gets scared and worries that he will be punished for the contact._

Jiraiya on the other hand had stumbled over to the Hokage's desk and pulled a large bottle of sake out of a hidden compartment in the wall behind it. Not waiting for anyone else he took out a saucer and filled it three times, downing it in rapid succession. Before anyone had realized what was going on he had finished half the bottle and had set both the bottle and his saucer down in time to hear Temari's comment about wanting to be lying in Naruto's arms. He had to cheer the gaki, he had snagged one hell of a looker. The Ero-sennin was about to grin his usual lecherous grin when the Hokage turned to face him, speaking quietly as Ibiki went to help Naruto move Temari.

"Jiraiya…just what did she mean by 'next time'?" The Hokage asked with a raised eyebrow.

Jiraiya smiled sheepishly up at his old sensei.

"Just that, Hokage-sama. We will need to do this many times before I can be sure I got the seal transferred properly. It's so complex that simply giving me the memories won't be any good. I have to actually view her memories of it and study it fully before I will be able to apply it properly. It is…without a doubt…the single most complex seal I have ever seen. If we have a session like this once a day for the next month, I may be able to apply the seals by the final exam, but that's a big if. It would be safer if we waited until after the exams, when I can be sure I've memorized the seals properly. We are only going to get one chance at this, and the memories of how to apply the seal are millennia old. If I understood correctly, the technique used by the Kyuubi has drastic consequences, and there is a reason the Bijuu do not use it lightly just to change their own fates."

Jiraiya looked up at the Hokage with fear in his eyes.

"If the memories I was shown are correct, then the world itself has been nearly obliterated no fewer than eight times in our history, and the only reason we are even standing here is because one of the Bijuu sacrificed the bulk of their power and life energy to safe the planet. Whatever evil they may be, they wish this world to survive as much as any of us do."

On one of the couches in the room Temari and Naruto, who had fallen asleep stroking Temari's hair, slept on soundly, unaware of the revelations Jiraiya had gleaned from the memories of the last time the seal had been applied, in a world long lost to Time's relentless progression.

* * *

Within the back of Naruto's mind the Kyuubi was becoming more and more restless. He could feel the power within the female called Temari, and the longer it was kept away from him the more it began to burn at him. He _knew_ that he had a pact to complete, and the longer they waited to place the damn seals the more pain he was in. He didn't even care about being trapped in the Yondaime's brat anymore. He just wanted the pain to end, to fulfill the damn pact and receive whatever the female had been forced to agree to in exchange. Even if it did mean that he would lose much of his power in the process.

Demons after all, keep their word. It's the one thing you can always count on with them.

* * *

AN: And there you have it, Chapter 2 of Desert Fox Redux. I rewrote about half of this after the first draft was completed, as I didn't quite like the way I had written certain scenes, and because I had decided to change an aspect of the plot since I had wrote the segments. The end result sits now before you, and I hope you all enjoyed it.

And yes, I know I ended with the same line. There is a reason for that, and it will all be clear in due time. That, or I'm just trying to emphasize the fact that demons can't break their words. You decide.

-ZI

**Appendix 1A: The Music of Desert Fox and Desert Fox Redux**

The music that I chose to represent both Desert Fox and Desert Fox Redux is intimately tied to the relationship between Naruto and Temari, and is the music that I feel best represents both parts. Now, it will be a while before I write Desert Fox, by virtue that it will be a prequel, but I present to you here the music that I feel best represents the two stories.

+Desert Fox

-Opening 1: Gotta Be Somebody by Nickleback

-Ending 1: Around the World by

+Desert Fox Redux

-Opening 1: Reach for the Sky by Social Distortion

-Ending 1: Wonderwall by Oasis

**Review Responses**

Innerstruggle88 – Thank you.

Kerensky02 – Thank you.

Kensington – Well, hopefully the gobsmacked Sarutobi didn't disappoint you. And yes, I was trying to avoid going over any more of the canon plot there than was absolutely necessary.

X-219 – Hope you enjoyed this.

Sh8ad8ow – Thank you.

TwiztidOne – Thank you.

Jbalman – Hehe, well thank you. I'm really enjoying working on this story.

Sweet Heavens – I personally felt there was no point boring you all with nine months of Temari fighting not to be emo and fighting the urge to kill things. And she has been careful not to change things before this point, as if she screwed up the timeline too early, she would miss her chance to get her lover back. As to Sasuke, well, let's just say that he will NOT be leaving any heirs behind when he passes on to the afterlife.

Jaa ne.

-ZI

rayderfan64 – Thank you for not asking me to rush. Too often people do rush their stories, and it's a shame when they do. As much as I wish I could write faster than I do, I simply refuse to ruin a story by trying to force my way past a case of writers block.

Chm01 – Perhaps. As you've read, it will be a few weeks before they can even possibly be safely applied.

FunnyLaugh – Oh you have no idea. This is a woman who owes her very life and sanity to one man, to the man she loves. She has watched in horror as he was brutally murdered, and as the demon within him was used to then destroy the village that he had fought so hard to protect, despite all the crap it had given him. So when she finally saw her lover, yes, she went for it. It took all her self control not to drag him back to her hotel and have her way with him right then and there.

-ZI

BackYard – It was a bit rushed for a reason. I really did not want to detail huge parts of what was essentially canon. I wanted to get on to the good parts where plot actually happens.

Draton – Why thank you. I appreciate the compliments. NarutoxTemari is one of my favorite pairings as well. As to it being written well, well, I'm working damn hard to make it good. I hope you weren't disappointed by this chapter.

Jaa ne.

-ZI

Esuslol – Sasuke does not have kids. Whether that means he dies or wins a Darwin Award you will have to wait to find out.

Moonfal – Hope you liked it my friend, and would I be correct in guessing that you are getting ready for spring semester?

Jaa ne, watashi no tomodachi.

-ZI

Bobboky – Thank you.

TheShadowWolves – Thanks.

Jamez-08 – It has taken Temari nearly a year, and she still gets flashes of memories from the future. When the seals are applied, when Naruto finally awakens, he will only have a small fraction of his memories. The strongest ones from his past will rise first, the rest appearing more slowly. The seals will allow them to process faster though, but it will still take a while.

As to the Jiraiya's help thing, most of the stories I've read have all had memories be sent back and then transferred to him by either acts of god or with no one's real help. It just always struck me as odd that something like that could be done safely, especially without some sort of complex seal to help control it. Thus, when I started working on this idea, and thanks to a few other aspects of the 'pact', I decided on a very complex seal. Given what else it will cause, and the fact its supposed to help control the memory flow, it should be understandable why it is such a monstrosity.

Temari's refusal of Sasuke's asking her on a date will have many repercussions, and none of them pleasant.

Jaa ne.

-ZI

Kontraband – Again, thanks for the recommendation of "Chuunin Exam Day". I read it nonstop after your review reminded me of it, and I absolutely fell in love with it. I've encountered another time travel fic in my readings, I think it was called "Fuinjutsu", but I'm not sure. Either way, its absolutely amazing, and if I can find it again I'll try to remember to place a link to it in the AN for the next chapter of this.

Jaa ne, Kontra.

-ZI

DufFan – Thanks.

Postaled – Thank you. I'll do my best.

Ymere – As I've explained to people many times, it is my sincerest goal to never cease work on any of my projects. I intend to bring them all to completion.

Killjoy3000 – Thank you. Hope you enjoyed this chapter.

Kai Dragoon – Thanks. And yeah, the idea didn't actually occur to my either until I had read EroSlackerMicha's work.

JPMod – Yes, the previous timeline was an AU of canon. The divergence point is shortly after Itachi's death, but that will all be explained one day when I write "Desert Fox". Until then, it will mostly be told in flashbacks and internal monologues.

And who said Naruto's friends were even in Konoha when the betrayal occurred? Sasuke was Hokage, he could have easily assigned them all missions at the same time.

And are you not wondering just who Temari is pact-bound to kill?

-ZI

landoffire – Thanks. Hope you liked this chapter.

FenrirCrinos – The history of the alternate past will be revealed in a patchwork as this story progresses. The full picture won't become visible until I write "Desert Fox" itself once this story is completed.

CaptainPrice – Yup, well, I can't be perfect, and I haven't chosen a beta for my projects yet, mostly because I do all the work myself and the only errors that get in are ones that slip through my initial writing and occasional rewrites.

Darksnider05 – Sasuke will have no children. Draw your own conclusions.

ZortkiyaTheTroll – Thank you. There are some other good time travel Naruto fics out there, but too often or not I stop reading partway through. The two I mentioned before have so far pleased me to no end, partially because they have both attempted to deal properly with the whole "need to be retrained' thing.

GodricGryff – Thanks. I've had a number of highly emotional breakups, so I can begin to understand the depth of the emotion Temari would be feeling in my story. This is why I've worked so hard to show the emotion of those two and to do it justice.

Zrodeathwing – He's gonna be taken down more than that by the time the story is through. And as you can see, Hinata has already begun to act. And Sakura has been ogling Sasuke too much to really notice that she is losing Naruto's attention and unwavering support. When she does, it will cause her to reevaluate her self a bit.

King Hawke – Thank you.

Vamp's Angel – Why thank you. I hope you've enjoyed the continuing developments.

Firelordeg – Here's the next chapter, and I hope you enjoyed it.

Son of a peach – Thank you.

Shanedude – As you can see, yes he will. It will just take him some time to do so.

Shanedude – Well, I don't think that "Blonds Have More Fun" is cheesy. Well, maybe the Hyperbolic Time Chamber WAS a bit over the top, but EroSlackerMicha has always kept a certain level of humor in his fics at all times.

TgCid24 – Hi yourself.

Yeah, I have to agree with you on that one. I've been doing my best to keep this one on the right side of that line.

Yes, future Naruto knew who his parents were. The alternate history that now hasn't happened diverges shortly after Itachi dies fighting Sasuke, and Naruto has been informed of his parentage.

Your welcome, and I hope you enjoyed this chapter as well.

-ZI

EroSlackerMicha – My my my. This is an honor. You are, as you well know, one of the three authors who's works inspired me to actually start work on my own projects, so I am greatly honored that you feel that way about my story. I'd never have even bothered writing a Redux fic if it weren't for your own works, as prior to that I had yet to find a single Naruto time travel fic of any decent quality.

Thank you, and I will strive to do my best. Hopefully you will approve of this chapter as well.

-Zaion Indulias, First Son of Solaris


	4. Chapter 4

Desert Fox Redux

A story by Zaion Indulias

Chapter 3: The Month That Simply Was

When Temari awoke the following morning to find her self lying on a couch in the Hokage's office she stretched and yawned, looking around her. In one corner of the room she saw Jiraiya the pervy sage looking out of a window with a telescope giggling periodically. She could see that he had a notebook open in his lap and that his free hand wrote in it while he looked through the telescope. Remembering everything that Naruto had once told her about him, and all the stories of his perverted habits, she assumed that he must have been spying on one of the many hot springs and bathhouses that were scattered around Konoha. She was just about to fling a nearby vase at his head when the doors of the office slowly opened.

Temari turned her head and watched as the Hokage entered while drinking deeply from a steaming mug of coffee. He was followed by a yawning Naruto who was still wearing that garish orange jacket of his, a grumpy Anko who was chewing on some dango while carrying her own steaming mug of the thick brew, Inoichi who had bags under his eyes and a third cup of coffee, and one of the Hokage's aides. The aide had a tray with a pot of coffee and several more mugs on it, as well as several plates of pancakes, bacon, and eggs. The aid silently put the tray down on the desk and then bowed politely before exiting. Naruto yawned and then noticed that Temari was awake and looking at him with a faint smile.

"Um…good morning, Temari-chan…" Naruto said quietly.

Temari's smile widened and she sat up a little more, motioning for Naruto to join her on the couch. Still yawning, Naruto quickly poured two cups of the strong brew and then carried them and a large plate of food over to her. Carefully he sat down and handed her one of the mugs, which she gratefully accepted as she let the warmth of the cup fill her hands and the delicious aroma fill her nostrils. Silently she took a sip, letting out a sigh of contentment. Seeing that she liked the drink Naruto tentatively took a sip him self as Temari smiled at him.

_Whatever else you might say about the old man, he has good taste in coffee_.

"I'm sure you are wondering why I still have everyone gathered here." The Hokage asked, clearly addressing everyone present.

Anko and Inoichi both grunted as they continued to drain their large mugs of coffee, while Naruto and Temari nodded and Jiraiya put the telescope away, his face suddenly serious.

"Since it has been determined that the seals which Jiraiya must learn from Temari will take a while for him to properly memorize, I have decided to make arrangements for both this transferal and for the training of both Uzumaki Naruto and Sabaku no Temari." The Hokage began. "That is why I have gathered all of you here."

Everyone was attentive, while Anko wondered what this had to do with her. The situation had been explained to her the night before, and like the others she had been sworn to secrecy on the matter. She just didn't understand why the training of Naruto or the transferal of memories from the Suna kunoichi needed her involved.

"Because Temari-san has informed us that Naruto was trained by Jiraiya in the original timeline, I have arranged for him to train Naruto and Temari during the next month. In order to keep what he learns a secret from our enemies, I have also arranged for this training to be done in and around the tower in the center of Training Area 44."

The Hokage paused for a moment so this could sink in. Anko's eyes widened as she suddenly got an inkling of why she had been brought in on all this.

"Officially, I will be assigning both Anko and Inoichi on a long term mission to the Wave country, to interrogate the remainder of Gatou's criminal organization. This will be a cover for their actual assignment, however. They will in fact be assigned with a team of ANBU to keep watch over Naruto's training, and to ensure that no spies discover what is going on."

Sarutobi paused for a moment to take a sip of his coffee.

"During the day Jiraiya will train the pair while the ANBU take shifts patrolling around the tower to look for spies, and in the evenings Inoichi will mindwalk Jiraiya and Temari to transfer the memories. Anko, I have chosen you to lead the ANBU in their duties as no one knows the Forest of Death better than you do, and because your understanding of Orochimaru's habits puts you in the special position of being most suited for this job."

Anko practically growled at the mention of her old sensei.

"Does anyone have any questions?"

Everyone but Temari shook their heads no. Said blond girl raised her hand tentatively.

"Um…Hokage-sama? If I'm to be trained along with Naruto, how will we keep Orochimaru from discovering that I have disappeared?"

Sarutobi smiled reassuringly at the blond girl.

"Do not worry yourself with that. Your sensei said that he would take are of covering your absence."

XXXX

Elsewhere, Baki's team was walking through Konoha on their way to the training ground that had been assigned to them. Kankuro was munching on a stick of dango while Baki drank slowly from a mug of coffee he had gotten at the dango stand they had just had a quick breakfast at. Behind them Gaara walked with his arms crossed and his eyes narrowed. And beside him walked Temari, the blond girl looking around and smirking, looking very much the way she would have if she had not spent the past year reabsorbing memories of a future that she was now working to change.

As they passed uneventfully through the village, none of the people they passed noticed that Gaara's gourd was currently hollow.

XXXX

Three hours later Naruto and Temari met up with Anko and an eight man ANBU squad at the entrance to the Forest of Death. As per the Hokage's orders they had used henge while they shopped for the necessary supplies, anything else they required being gathered by the ANBU assigned to the mission. Thus they were currently disguised as a nondescript pair of brown haired genin a few years older than they actually were.

"Jiraiya-sama and Inoichi-san have already entered with the final four members of the ANBU squad in order to prepare the tower. We will be heading straight there to meet up with them. The rest of today will be spent on preparing our quarters and the facilities that we will be using. Any questions?" Anko said, looking over the two disguised blonds.

They both shook their heads.

"Very well." Anko said as she placed a Snake ANBU mask over her face. "Team Serpent, move out."

All eleven shinobi leapt forward into the massive forest, their entrance unseen by anyone.

XXXX

Three days later found Naruto running frantically through the forest near the tower. His directional sense told him that he was about twenty minutes away at a dead run, but the tower was not his goal.

CRASH

Naruto was sent tumbling as a massive serpent struck up from the forest floor, shattering the branch he had just landed on. The blond boy immediately made a Kage bunshin and used it to toss him self out of the way as the snake curved and dropped back towards the ground. As Naruto landed and stuck to the bole of a nearby tree he saw the telltale puff of smoke come from the snake's mouth as it dispelled the umpteenth clone Naruto had used to distract it that day.

"Damn you Anko!!" Naruto yelled out in annoyance as he turned and ran up the tree trunk, hoping to gain enough height to have the advantage when the giant snake came after him again.

_Damn her and her sadistic ways, this isn't training. This is a fight to the death!_

The day after they had arrived at the tower Naruto had awoken to a bucket of water being splashed on his face. He had sputtered and sat up, shouting obscenities at whoever his attacker was. As soon as he was fully conscious he found Anko standing over him.

"Come on, gaki. It's time to begin your training. By the end of this month you're going to curse the day you were born, but you'll be stronger than any other genin in the world." Anko said with a grin as she dragged the sputtering boy out of his bed. "Get dressed and meet us in the library in five minutes."

Five minutes later the blond boy stumbled into the library to find Anko leaning back in a chair while Jiraiya sat nearby, giggling as he tried to catch a glimpse of Anko's breasts. However, as soon as Naruto entered Jiraiya looked away from Anko and his expression turned serious.

"Ok, kid. The old man told me has informed me of your particular ability with using the Kage Bunshin technique. Tell me though, do you know the real reason that technique is so valuable, and why it is such a protected technique in Konoha?" Jiraiya asked as he got up.

Naruto shook his head in confusion. He had always thought it was because it made a solid clone without needing material nearby.

"I just thought it was because it created a solid clone that was indistinguishable from the user unless it's dispelled." He replied.

Jiraiya shook his head and crossed his arms, going into lecture mode.

"The real reason is because when Kage Bunshin are dispelled you receive all of their memories." Jiraiya said.

"Um, Jiraiya-san? I thought all elemental clones did that as well."

Jiraiya blinked in confusion.

_What have they been teaching this boy?_

"That…someone has been teaching you wrong if you thought that, intentionally so."

Naruto looked at him in surprise.

"Elemental clones do not send their memories or experiences back to their creator. This makes them far less useful than a Kage Bunshin, which can be used to gather information or infiltrate an enemy facility and then dispel them selves to return the gathered intelligence to their creator." Jiraiya said, correcting Naruto's knowledge on the subject of clones. "This ability is key to why the Kage Bunshin are so valuable, and why they are considered a Kinjutsu."

Jiraiya leant forward towards Naruto conspiratorially.

"Tell me, Naruto, how much can one person learn in a day? A week? A year?"

Naruto thought for a moment as Jiraiya continued on, not waiting for an answer to the question.

"Now imagine if someone had the ability to relive a day, over and over again a thousand times. How much more could he learn?"

Naruto looked confused for a moment before understanding suddenly dawned in his eyes. Jiraiya leaned back in his chair, a triumphant smile on his face.

"I can use my Kage Bunshin to learn and train faster! And since I can use so many more than anyone else, it will have a noticeable effect in a short period of time!!"

Jiraiya's grin widened as Anko smirked. The gaki certainly was perceptive when he wanted to be.

"That is exactly right Naruto. So, we will use this aspect of your clones in order to speed up your training. While Anko is overseeing your physical training in the forest each day, I will be overseeing your mental training here in the library. With your Kage Bunshin, and a teacher actually willing to listen, maybe we can turn that crafty mind of yours into a finely honed weapon. Just remember, never dispel them all at once, or else the sudden influx of knowledge could knock you unconscious. Dispel them in groups of ten to twenty and you should be ok."

Naruto nodded, silent because he was so excited about what he had just learned that he could do. The grin on his face however could have lit up the entire world in the middle darkest night.

XXXX

"Damn you Anko!!" Naruto's voice rang out through the forest, scattering a few birds.

Anko looked up from where she was lounging on the head of a large purple snake, chewing lightly on a stick of dango she had pilfered from the kitchen. After seeing no signs of explosions or hearing any further outbursts from her charge she looked back down at the issue of Playninja she had been reading and flipped the page. Beside her lay a pile of other issues of said magazine, as well as several volumes of Icha Icha.

XXXX

When Naruto's training finally ended for the day he practically collapsed as he entered the tower again. The exhausted look on his face turned into a faint smile as he caught sight of Temari sitting at a table in the dining hall as he entered, and the blond boy staggered over and plopped down beside her. Without missing a beat the blond girl, who never stopped reading the scroll on Futon jutsu that she had open before her, reached a hand out and slid a bowl of ramen over in front of Naruto. The blond boy smiled in thanks and dug in as Anko took a seat at another table beside one of the masked ANBU.

"So, how did your day go?" Naruto asked her as he finished his first bowl and prepared to dispel the first batch of his clones. He had discovered after the first day that he felt better if he ate between each batch and gave his mind time to assimilate the memories so now he dispelled a group or two between every part of his meal.

"It was alright." Temari said as she rolled the scroll up and put it aside. "I did convince Ero-sennin to teach you one of your father's techniques."

"You know who my father was?!" Naruto asked suddenly rounding on Temari, a look of surprise and intense interest apparent on his face.

The blond girl blanched as she had never realized that Naruto hadn't known who his parents were at this point.

"You mean, you don't know?" She asked in surprise. "Oh my, Naruto."

Temari wrapped him in her arms and buried her head against his neck, completely ignoring the grime and dried blood that coated his clothing.

"I'm so sorry my foxy ninja. I never realized you didn't know. If I had I'd have told you as soon as I saw you again."

Naruto just wrapped his arms around her, still in shock.

"Wh-who was he, Temari? Who was my father? Why did he leave me all alone?" He asked, stuttering from the emotion building in him.

"Oh Naruto." Temari said as she sat back slightly and gazed into his eyes.

Around the young couple several of the ANBU had gathered, all interested in knowing as well. Many of them had been assigned to look over the troublesome teenager when he had been younger, or had been involved in attempts to catch him after one of his numerous pranks. All of them were curious as to who had let this hell spawn loose on Konoha, so that they could curse his name for the trouble he had caused, and praise him for the entertainment he had provided.

"Naruto…" Temari said softly as she leant her forehead against his, tears glistening in her eyes. "Your father…your father was Namikaze Minato…"

Naruto showed no signs of recognition upon hearing the name, merely confusion as Temari had said it in a manner that implied she expected a reaction and understanding of who the name was. However, all around her the ANBU's eyes were widening. They all recognized the name, and as they looked at Naruto once more they wondered how they had missed it all those years. After all, it was just SOOO obvious.

"…the Yondaime Hokage." Temari finished softly.

This time Naruto did recognize the name. His eyes widened as he sat back down in his seat, hard.

"T-the Yondaime was my father?" He asked in a soft voice. Naruto was completely shocked by what he had just been told. "If…if he was my father, then why did he seal the Kyuubi inside of me? And why did my mother abandon me after he did it?"

Temari merely wrapped Naruto in a hug, fighting to stop her own tears as she tried to be a support for her love. Behind her Jiraiya approached with a sad smile on his face.

"My student sealed the Kyuubi within you because he knew that only an innocent, newborn child could contain the Kyuubi's essence, and because he could not ask anyone to make a sacrifice that he wasn't willing to make him self." Jiraiya said, drawing the boy's tear stained eyes to his own. "And your mother…she loved you very much, Naruto, you must understand that. But, Minato's death broke her heart, and she was already extremely weak from giving birth to you. Our best healers tried their hardest, but despite all their attempts they couldn't stop death from claiming her. Maybe if Tsunade had still been in Konoha something might have been done, but as it stands there just wasn't anything anybody could do."

Jiraiya smiled faintly down at the blond boy.

"But I'm sure, that wherever they are, that both of them are very proud of you. As am I. That is why I have decided to teach you the first of your father's original jutsu. It is your birthright, and I feel that you are finally ready for it."

Naruto sniffled a little and then sucked it up. He took a deep breath and let it out, his eyes closed as he did so. When he opened them those watching could only read determination in his eyes.

"Then I am going to keep making them proud."

XXXX

That evening, rather than staying with Temari while Inoichi performed the mindwalk, Naruto was standing in one of the indoor training grounds of the tower. Anko and one of the ANBU who identified him self only by his codename Yamato, sat off to one side enjoying plates of dango and a large pot of tea as they watched Naruto begin the first part of his training. All around the room stood over a hundred copies of Naruto, each one holding a large blue water balloon in their open right palms.

Jiraiya and Temari had both explained that the technique was called Rasengan, and that it created a swirling sphere of chakra that could grind through a target. It was a powerful and dangerous technique that was made using nothing but chakra control, something that Naruto bemoaned his poor abilities with, rather than the use of seals. Jiraiya had led them to this training ground and had demonstrated the technique to him by destroying one of the wooden targets that had been made for him by Yamato. Naruto's jaw had dropped before he began to leap around, excited that he would be learning something so cool.

Temari had then smirked and stepped forward, holding her hand out before her as well. She had then proceeded to, with a bit more difficulty than Jiraiya had, form a Rasengan as well. Hers did not create nearly as big a hole in the target when she slammed the ball of swirling chakra into it, but it was still impressive. The blond kunoichi had smiled happily when Naruto had tackled her in a big hug and kissed her hard, begging her to teach him how to do that as well.

This is what led to Naruto standing here with his hundred clones, all trying to figure out how to burst the water balloons by doing nothing more than spinning the chakra inside the water. When he had asked why they wouldn't just tell him the secret both Jiraiya and Temari had smirked and shared a knowing smile. Then as one they had told him one thing.

"To master the Rasengan you must come to understand every aspect of the technique on your own."

After four hours of training, when Temari finally came to find him after her session with Inoichi, Naruto had still failed to pop a single one of the balloons.

XXXX

The following month passed for the pair of blonds in a predictable pattern. Naruto would be awoken by a bucket of water, create a thousand clones to study in the library, and train until the early evening in the forest. Then he would return for dinner and spend the evening working on trying to master the Rasengan while Temari would have her session with Inoichi and Jiraiya.

Some days Jiraiya would oversee Naruto's studies in the library while others he would watch as Naruto either fought with his clones or attempted to fight off some of Anko's giant summon snakes. As he watched the boy train he began to get thoughtful.

_Minato, he is amazing. He pushes him self harder than even you ever did, and yet he gets up the next day and does it all over again. I think, if he can master your Rasengan, I will allow him to sign the Toad contract. I'm sure Gamabunta will approve of him, just like he did you._

Near the end of the month he made up his mind. There were only three days left until the finals, and he was going to give Naruto a gift.

XXXX

The next day Jiraiya told Naruto to not bother making any clones and instead lead him to a very large clearing in the forest near the tower.

"Ok Ero-sennin, why did you bring me out here? Are you going to teach me some new technique or something?"

Jiraiya grinned wider.

"Something better, brat. I'm going to let you sign the Toad contract."

Naruto blinked.

"The Toad Contract? You mean the same Toad Contract that allowed my father to summon the toads? THAT Toad Contract?" He asked.

Jiraiya nodded and grinned as he bit his thumb and spread a line of blood across the palm of his left hand. He then performed a quick series of hand seals before slamming his palm into the ground.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!" He cried as a network of black lines and symbols spread out across the ground before a massive puff of white smoke enveloped him.

Instantly a large orange-red toad with dark purple markings appeared out of the smoke with Jiraiya standing upon its head proudly. The toad had a large scroll held in its tongue that it slowly lowered before the shocked Naruto as Jiraiya watched on with a smile.

"Open that scroll." He began as Naruto gingerly received the scroll from the toad. "That is the contract with toads for summoning, that was handed down to me from generation to generation. Write your name with blood, and put blood finger prints of all your fingers of one of your hands, underneath."

Naruto turned and unrolled the scroll, marveling at the names that were written upon it. He saw Jiraiya's, and next to it was his father's. Next to that was an empty slot, just awaiting the next summoner to sign the contract.

"Then, channel the chakra to where you want to summon, and put down the hand you made the contract with." Jiraiya continued as he sat down on the toad's head. "The hand seals are inu, i, tori, saru, and hitsugi."

Narrowing his eyes in concentration Naruto bit his thumb before reaching his hand out gingerly to the top of the empty slot on the contract. Quietly he spoke to him self as he wrote out the characters for his name.

"Na…Mi…Ka…Ze…Na…Ru…To."

When he had finished the last character he quickly spread the blood to all his fingers of his right hand to the contract below his name, finishing the signing.

"Alright Ero-sennin, its done."

"Alright. Now, I want you to focus your energy. Channel as much as you can into your right hand, since you will use it for summoning from now on. Then make the hand seals and place your hand on the ground and release the energy. Try to summon the largest toad you can." Jiraiya replied.

The Ero-sennin smirked as Naruto bit his thumb again and spread the blood across his right palm and began performing the seals.

_Lets see how much the gaki can do, Minato._

Naruto began to focus all the chakra he could muster into his arm…

XXXX

Deep within Naruto the Kyuubi writhed in pain, anxious for the pact to be completed. When he felt Naruto attempting to draw upon a huge amount of chakra he found a chance to relieve the burning of the unfulfilled pact, at least for the moment.

With a grin on his face Kyuubi pushed, letting his chakra flow forth into his host, letting his power enrich the boy.

XXXX

…and as he did so he felt a sudden rush of power, great power just like that time against Haku on the bridge in Nami no Kuni. As Naruto completed the seals and slammed his hand into the ground he yelled out loudly.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!!"

Jiraiya felt the immense pulse of chakra that flooded out of Naruto's hand as the black lines of the summoning seals appeared. Jiraiya really wasn't expecting Naruto to manage much more than a younger toad, so what happened next caused him to fall off his own toad in surprise.

The puff of smoke that appeared was so great it covered the entire clearing. When it cleared a few seconds later Naruto was revealed sitting high in the air on top of one of the largest of all the toads. Somehow, against all odds, Naruto had summoned Gamabunta on his first try. Carefully Naruto got to his feet, looking around in confusion before finally realizing what had happened.

He had summoned a damn fucking huge toad.

_Oh shit! I didn't expect the kid to summon HIM on his first try. This isn't good._

As Naruto stepped forward to look down the toad's face he saw a massive pipe sticking out of the toad's mouth.

"Hehe, I did it!" He cheered.

"You little punk!" A deep rough voice echoed around Naruto as the toad's head below him shook, causing him to fall off and bounce down the toad's face. He landed on the toad's pipe and used all his control to stick to it with both his hands and his feet. "On whose head do you think you're standing?! This is the head of Gamabunta-sama, AKA Gama Oyabun! You fool! Be quiet!!"

Gamabunta opened his mouth and began to blow in an attempt to force Naruto off of his pipe. Naruto however just focused even harder on sticking to the pipe, ducking under most of the wind as Gamabunta continued to attempt to knock him off, ranting about strange annoying kids and Jiraiya. Finally, as Jiraiya dismissed his own toad and grabbed the scroll as he disappeared into the forest, Gamabunta closed his mouth. Naruto ensured his grip was stable and then stood upright on Gamabunta's pipe.

"It's been a long time and I want to enjoy the fresh air of the outside world, but a weird kid is making noise on my head. Hey Jiraiya! Where the hell is Jiraiya! What the fuck do you want from me?!" Gamabunta yelled.

Further in the forest Jiraiya began to run for it, keeping his chakra dampened so Gamabunta couldn't sense him.

XXXX

Back at the Tower Temari and Anko, who were enjoying a pleasant midmorning snack of dango and tea, looked up as they heard a deep echoing voice coming through the forest demanding to see Jiraiya. Temari blinked for a moment before finally chuckling. Anko looked at her questioningly as Temari's face split into a massive grin.

"Why do I get the feeling that you know what is going on?" She asked slowly, not entirely sure that she wanted to know the answer.

Temari smirked before replying.

"I think my foxy ninja just summoned Gamabunta."

Temari went back to her dango and her reading while Anko just stared at her in surprise and confusion.

_That little gaki just summoned Gamabunta!? At his age!?_

Anko's look became thoughtful and annoyed.

_Why is it all the good ones are always taken-_

Iruka

_-too young-_

Naruto

_-or gay?_

Kakashi.

XXXX

"Jiraiya just ran. But why do you want to talk to Ero-sennin? I'm the one who summoned you!" Naruto yelled back

"Bah! There's no way a little whelp like you could summon me. You haven't even signed the contract!" Gamabunta said back.

"But I did sign it, Gama Oyabun." Naruto replied as he stood and saluted on the massive toad boss' nose.

Gamabunta narrowed his eyes and then opened his mouth to laugh.

"I wondered when you were going to start talking, you little punk. But it's impossible for a little kid like you to summon me."

"It's true! It's really true that I summoned you!" Naruto replied, earning another laugh from Gamabunta that caused him to growl. Finally he had had enough.

"This fucking frog!! Just because I've been modest to you, you're saying whatever you feel like! Because I summoned you, I'm your master! Got it?!"

At this point it should be noted that Jiraiya, great genius that he was, neglected to fully explain the relationships between summons and summoner, as he did not expect Naruto to be capable of summoning anything other than a young frog.

"What? Who do you think you're talking to huh?! A kid who can't drink a cup with sake is telling Gamabunta-sama you're his master?!! You! Shut the fuck up!!"

Gamabunta opened his mouth and used his tongue to toss Naruto onto his back before crouching and leaping upwards with all his might. Any one in Konoha who happened to be looking in the right direction would have seen the largest Toad many of them had ever seen flying several hundred feet into the air over the Forest of Death before landing on the ground again. Naruto barely managed to hold on using all of his chakra control, but hold on he did. If it hadn't been for the intense training he had been undergoing for the past month he likely would not have even managed that.

When the wind and dust from Gamabunta's landing settled the toad looked around, watching for where the gaki had landed. After a few seconds he finally realized that Naruto had not been thrown loose. Rather, the blond boy was slowly getting to his feet on top of Gamabunta's head, a triumphant smirk on his head.

"I already told you, Gama Oyabun, I really did summon you!"

Gamabunta looked up and was surprised to see Naruto standing on his forehead. His eyes widened slightly as Naruto continued speaking.

"I am Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto, son of Namikaze Minato, and I will gladly show a friend of my father's the respect they deserve when they show me the respect I deserve!"

Gamabunta began to chuckle.

"And what makes you worthy of respect brat?! Just because you are the son of Minato you think I'm supposed to respect a brat who isn't even old enough to drink with me?!"

Naruto growled and leapt down onto Gamabunta's nose, turning so he could face the boss toad and looked him straight in the eye.

"I am worthy of the same respect as any other being. I am Namikaze Naruto, and I will be a Hokage like my father, for the same reason he was: to protect everyone. I expect you to show me the respect I deserve because I-" Naruto suddenly quieted and kneeled, bowing his head. "-will show the proper respect to one who I know was a close friend of my father's. For all the help you have provided him and Konoha through the years, you and your clan, I thank you, Gama Oyabun."

Naruto's brash and often arrogant personality, a side-effect of his desire for attention and recognition, was something that had been partially dampened by Temari's efforts. She knew that it was mostly an affectation by her foxy ninja, a defensive measure to keep out the pain and loneliness, and she knew that he was better than that. So even though it would be at least a month until she truly got her husband back, at least she could help his younger self begin to break out of that shell…just like he had once helped her brother do the same.

Gamabunta blinked at Naruto several times before he started laughing again. He was pleased to note that this time Naruto didn't even seem to budge form his back, the blond boy holding on through the soles of his feet alone. Finally he stopped laughing and even smirked, although the only clue Naruto had that he was doing so was the way the edges of his eyes crinkled.

"Hahahahaha, I like you kid. You have fire, but you know when to show proper respect. Fine, I will acknowledge you as my master, but only once you can demonstrate the Rasengan to me. It was a technique of your father's, and good luck getting anyone to teach you it. He only ever taught it to three other people, and only two of them are still alive."

Gamabunta began to laugh again as Naruto himself just chuckled and looked down at his clenched right fist.

"Rasengan, huh?" He asked softly as he slowly opened his fist.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and focused on his palm. At first nothing happened, but then blue energy began to slowly condense and spiral in the center of his palm. As the wind began to swirl and the ball began to grow denser and denser and Gamabunta's laughter ceased. Naruto began to sweat as he concentrated hard, focusing and spiraling the chakra with one hand. Finally, after several long tense moments, the ball fully formed and he let out a cheer as he raised his hand high, a perfectly formed Rasengan held in his palms.

"Here you go, Gama Oyabun! The proof of my worth!"

Gamabunta blinked several times in surprise before smiling and beginning to laugh again, this time dislodging Naruto and causing the surprised blond to release the Rasengan in a burst of wind and dissipating blue chakra.

"Bwahahahahha. So it is, gaki, so it is!" Gamabunta caught Naruto with his tongue and returned the blond boy to his nose. "Very well, I Gamabunta hereby recognize you as my subordinate. You may summon me and my clan whenever you should require assistance. Now, get on my back Naruto. I have a bone to pick with Jiraiya for this little stunt of his."

Naruto grinned widely and leapt onto Gamabunta's head, securing him self with chakra just moments before Gamabunta leapt into the air, heading towards the tower where he could sense Jiraiya's chakra radiating from.

_This boy summoned me with his own power, and he has mastered his father's technique. He is the first to sit on my head since his father, and he is truly worthy. Minato, you would be proud._

Moments later Gamabunta dropped out of the sky in front of the tower, startling the trio of ANBU who were on guard duty. On top of his head Naruto stood with his arms crossed and a massive grin on his face.

"Jiraiya! Get out here now!" Gamabunta thundered gruffly, earning a chuckle from his passenger.

When there was no sign of Jiraiya Naruto chuckled and then used a jutsu he had copied from Iruka-sensei almost a year ago. His head suddenly enlarged and his voice became massively amplified.

"Get your ass out here Ero-sennin, or else Gama Oyabun will send me in after you!! And Kakashi taught me the Sennen Goroshi!!"

There was a burst of dust and suddenly Jiraiya was kneeling on the roof before Gamabunta. Naruto continued to laugh his ass off as Gamabunta gave Jiraiya the verbal equivalent of the Sennen Goroshi.

XXXX

The day of the Chunin Exam Finals finally dawned, and as the first rays of dawn settled upon Konoha an odd assortment of figures entered through the North Gate of the village, the Chunin gate guards recognizing two of the figures and waving them on through. The twelve masked ANBU and their five charges proceeded directly along the main street entering from that direction to the Hokage's tower. As they walked they noticed the dirty looks many of the early risers were shooting Naruto and Temari, but they kept quiet. It was only looks after all. What possible harm could they do?

When they arrived at the Hokage's office the twelve ANBU all bowed to Naruto and Temari and wished them the best of luck before dispersing. They had their own reports to hand in. Swallowing, Naruto stepped forward and pushed open the door. Inside the Hokage looked up at the sound of the door opening and smiled.

"Ah, Naruto. Come in, come in."

Naruto smiled faintly and stepped in followed closely by Temari, who had her hand on his shoulder, and the three adults. Inoichi looked ready to go home after the tedious assignment, while Anko just looked cranky and Jiraiya was smirking.

"So Naruto, how was your training?" Sarutobi asked as he stepped around his desk. He noted that Naruto seemed oddly subdued, and that the blond boy was looking at his feet.

"Jiji…why didn't you ever tell me who my father was?" Naruto finally asked, his voice barely a whisper.

Sarutobi's heart caught in his throat as Naruto spoke. He looked to Jiraiya in surprise, but the Ero-sennin merely nodded in confirmation of his worries.

"I-I'm sorry, Naruto." Sarutobi began, not sure how to explain things in a way that didn't drive Naruto away. "It was for your own safety. Your father had a lot of enemies, both inside and outside of Konoha. I decided to keep it a secret until you attained the rank of Jounin, at which point I could be sure that you would be capable of defending your self should anyone seek revenge against him by killing his son."

Sarutobi waited, tense for several long moments before Naruto finally looked up, a very faint smile on his face.

"Thanks…for telling me the truth."

To Sarutobi's surprise and pleasure Naruto darted forward, embracing the old man in a hug. Sarutobi looked up and saw that Temari had an approving smile on her face; clearly indicating to the old man that she harbored not anger towards him for his actions. Perhaps if his reasons had been different she might not have been so forgiving however. Silently the old man was thankful that he was not facing angry yells for his actions.

As Naruto stepped back from Sarutobi the three adult shinobi stepped forward and began to inform the Hokage of the results of the month's activities.

XXXX

By the time the sun was fully up and the exams themselves were nearing Naruto and Temari had long since left the Hokage's office. The pair had stopped by Naruto's apartment, surprised to see that it hadn't been vandalized since they had been gone, and dropped off their stuff before grabbing a quick breakfast and heading to the stadium. As they walked they noticed that the flow of the crowd around them was mostly to the stadium, and that those around them were giving them a wide birth. This caused Temari to growl and glare at the stupid villagers around them, which merely caused the gap to widen further.

"Ne, Temari-chan." Naruto said, snapping her out of her glares. "Don't worry about them. They are just idiots, isn't that right?"

The blond boy looked up at her as if asking for support for his claims. Temari smiled and pulled him closer against her.

"Ne, that's right my foxy ninja. They are indeed."

Naruto's smile brightened and then suddenly he took off, dragging Temari by her hand.

"Come on, we don't want to be late!!"

Temari chuckled and began running her self, easily catching up to the shorter boy.

When they finally reached the stadium they entered through the examinee's gate to find several of their opponents already standing in a line before a tall Jounin with a dark bandana wrapped around his head and a senbon needle sticking out of his mouth. Temari easily recognized Kankuro and Gaara, both of who looked relieved to see her safe and sound, though you wouldn't have known it from looking at the frown on Gaara's face. She also saw Shikamaru-

_What did I ever see in that lazy ass anyways?_

-Shino, who she had respected but never really gotten to know too well in her original life. She just knew that he had never once looked down on Naruto once he had learned what he carried. And she saw Hyuuga Neji, who while he had been friends with her Naru-kun in the future;, she knew had been a complete ass at this point in his life. She just hoped whatever Naruto had planned for him would work as well this time as his actions had the first time.

"Ne, where's Sasuke and that mummy-guy?" Naruto asked as he looked around, noting the absence of the final two competitors.

The sound of cheers ringing from above as he and Temari stepped forward into the line drew his attention upward, causing his face to be bathed in sunlight as Naruto looked up at the people in the cheering stands, his new clothes displayed for the first time since he had bought them nearly a month before.

Temari still wore her purple outfit with the red sash wrapped around her waist, but she had added a pair of small orange spirals on the shoulders. Naruto on the other hand had completely changed his outfit. There was barely any orange left in it at all. His pants were dark black and shortened to end a couple of inches above the black wrappings of his shinobi sandals. He had a kunai holster strapped to his right thigh and several more kunai tucked into pouches on his hips. Above that he wore a tight form-fitting black shirt with long sleeves and a bright orange spiral on the center of the chest, and over that he wore a long coat that stretched almost to the ground.

The coat was almost entirely a deep, dark red with black flames running along the bottom of it. The inner lining was completely black and the torso region of the coat was fitted to Naruto's body, Naruto's black sleeves sticking out past the short sleeves of the coat, while the bottom half flared out around him. To top it all off Naruto had his hitai-ate attached to a new black headband and his sun-kissed blond hair was even longer than usual, making a wild untamed spiky crown at the top of his head. To many of those watching he could almost have been mistaken as a young Yondaime.

As the crowd above cheered Naruto grinned and crossed his arms, determination in his eyes. As his eyes traced across the crowd he caught sight of the Kazekage approaching the Hokage and his eyes narrowed further. Temari had told him that that man, her father, had already been replaced by Orochimaru, that snake-pervert who had bit Sasuke on the neck. He knew that the Sandaime had a plan, but he was still worried. Temari had said that he had lost the fight originally in the future.

As Naruto continued to stare up at the Kage's box many others had their eyes on him. The first was Gaara, who was wondering just who Naruto was, to hold so much of his sister's love. It could be said that after having received the first genuine kindness he had ever had in his life from her that he was afraid of losing that. The poor boy didn't quite understand the difference between filial affection and romantic love yet, or else he might not have worried.

The second was Hyuuga Hinata, whose eyes were steeled in determination. She was angry with her self for failing against her cousin, and as she watched the way Naruto and Temari interacted she almost started growling.

_That Suna bitch, how dare she try to steal what should be mine by right! I'll make her pay, and I'll make Naruto recognize me as his destined one!_

Does insanity about fate and destiny run in the Hyuuga line or something?

The third was Haruno Sakura and Yamanaka Ino, both of who had to do a double-take to be sure that they were really seeing what they thought they were seeing.

"I-is that Naruto?!" Ino exclaimed as she leant forward in her seat, amazed at the change in the blond boy.

"No way that's Naruto!" Sakura cried out, staring down at her blond teammate in shock. "I mean, he's, he's-"

"He's hot!" Ino exclaimed for her poor pink-haired friend.

Truly, the Naruto who stood before them was not the same annoying Naruto they had grown up with. No, what they could see of his body under the tight formfitting black shirt was hard chiseled muscle, and his face even seemed a bit leaner than it had been before. The pair of shallow kunoichi could have sworn he looked a little bit taller as well.

As Sakura watched Naruto's grinning smile, and the way he interacted with that blond girl from Sunagakure she felt a sharp pang in her chest.

_Why is seeing him with another girl making me feel like this? I've never felt this way about Naruto before. He's always been loud, and annoying…and there for me._

Slowly Sakura began to wonder if she was losing the best thing that might have happened to her all because she had been so obsessed about her other teammate. Sakura was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't even notice her best friend start to drool at the sight of her fellow blond looking so hot.

Back on the arena floor the exam proctor was showing the gathered examinees a sheet of paper with the new order of the match ups. Temari smirked when her Naru-kun didn't ask about where Sasuke was. She had explained to him what had happened in the original timeline, and sure enough things appeared to still be on course; even the absence of that Dosu shinobi. But he was one of Orochimaru's lackeys, so she didn't begrudge her brother killing one enemy shinobi early. After all, he had spared Rock Lee any permanently crippling injuries at her request.

As Genma finished explaining the rules, every one of the gathered examinees showed determination on their faces.

"Well, the first match is Uzumaki Naruto and Hyuuga Neji." Genma said, causing the pair to glare at one another out of the sides of their eyes. "Other than those two, go back to the waiting room."

Temari walked over and kissed Naruto lightly on the cheek before ruffling his hair and walking off to follow the rest of the examinees out of the arena.

As Naruto and Neji faced off many of the people in the stands began to prophesize Naruto's defeat. However, the dynamic duo (aka Izumo and Kotetsu) were sitting next to Hinata and Kiba, and they were both sure for different reasons that Naruto was going to win.

"You seem like you want to say something." Neji taunted.

Naruto glared and held his hand out before him, trembling with barely suppressed emotion.

"I told you before…" Naruto growled. "I'm gonna win no matter what."

Neji smirked and triggered his Byakugan before moving into his Jyuken stance.

"It's more worthwhile fighting against you. When you face the true reality, those eyes will show disappointment. I'm looking forward to seeing those eyes."

"Stop talking so much…" Naruto said as he moved into a ready stance of his own, a sudden release of chakra causing the wind to swirl around him and Neji and kick up dust. "Let's begin already."

Even as he spoke Naruto's mind was already calculating the amount of space available in the arena, and the easiest method of defeating Neji while using the least amount of chakra. After all, he had an invasion to prepare for.

"Very well," Genma said around the senbon needle in his mouth. "Let the first match…Begin!"

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he analyzed Neji, remembering everything that he knew about the dark-haired boy. According to Temari the reason he was an arrogant jerk was because of a fucked up home life. Naruto had replied to her at the time that that was no excuse, and she had just smiled sadly and kissed him on the forehead, calling him naïve. Naruto just hoped that she was right that defeating him would help change things.

As people in the stands began to get restless at the lack of action Naruto smirked and brought his hands together in a very familiar and comfortable cross-shaped seal.

"Tajuu Kage Bunshin no Jutsu!" He cried out.

Those who had seen him fight using Kage Bunshin had expected four, maybe five tops. Twenty if he were really pushing it. But when the entire battlefield became momentarily blanketed in chakra smoke everyone in the crowd gasped in surprise. As the smoke cleared, over a thousand copies of Naruto stood surrounding Neji.

In the stands the dynamic duo were rephrasing their estimates as to Naruto's chances, completely surprised by his use of such a jutsu. Neither of them had even been aware that he knew the Kage Bunshin technique, much less the seriously Kinjutsu Tajuu Kage Bunshin technique.

"Give up now, Neji!" One clone cried out.

"You'll only bring more pain upon yourself if you don't." Another in the vast crowd cried out.

"You don't understand, you don't have a chance to win." Neji replied, unworried about the clones. They could throw themselves at him, and his defense would deal with them all.

Every single Naruto clone on the field chuckled and then lowered their right hands open to their sides, palm facing upwards. Suddenly the air in the arena became a massive flow of turbulent air as blue chakra began to spiral and condense over the palms of each of the thousand clones.

"Come on then Neji!" The clones shouted in unison. "Show us this destiny of yours. Show us how fate expects you to win against overwhelming force."

The people in the stands above who were old enough to have heard about it, or who had seen it used on the battlefield, marveled in awe at the technique that was now revealed to them. Many of the older Konoha shinobi in attendance began to mutter about how much Naruto resembled the Yondaime right now. Just replace the red on his coat with white and the black flames with orangey red ones and he'd almost be the spitting image of the man.

As the spiraling spheres of the thousand Rasengan finally took form the audience became completely silent. Even those with no shinobi training knew that something big was about to happen.

"This is your last chance Neji." One clone said as it stepped up before him, the sphere held in his hand glowing and whirling, the sound of a thousand of them echoing around the arena almost deafening Neji, the chakra exuded by the spheres disrupting his Byakugan's ability to see. "Give up now and save yourself from a world of hurt."

Neji smirked again and adjusted his stance, ready to release chakra and enter the Kaiten before any of the clones could get close to him.

"Fate has decreed that you will lose."

The clone who was apparently the spokesman just sighed and shook his head.

"Apparently you just aren't going to get it unless I beat it into you. Oh well."

Naruto's grin grew feral before he and a thousand other clones crouched and then charged. Neji began to spin, releasing chakra as his rotation caused it to form a rapidly spiraling shield protecting him from whatever sort of attack Naruto was about to use.

In the back of the clones, obscured from Neji's vision by the chakra being radiated by the mass of Rasengans, the original Naruto smirked and bit his thumb. As a cry of "Rasengan!" went up from his clones and a massive cloud of smoke and detonating Rasengans appeared in the center of the arena Naruto swiped the blood across the palm of his hand. As the last of the clones made their attack upon Neji, Naruto sped through five hand seals and slammed his hand onto the ground. As Neji's spin finally stopped, the older boy looking exhausted and taking a moment to catch his breath as the clones were finally done with, Naruto let out a cry.

"Kuchiyose no Jutsu!!"

The entire audience watched in surprise as there was a sudden massive cloud of smoke that enveloped the entire arena and the stands. It passed within seconds, and everyone stared in amazement as the largest toad that most of them had ever seen stood there smoking a massive pipe.

"Eh!? Naruto, why have you summoned me to such a place?!" Gamabunta asked loudly, the force of his voice causing many in the stands to duck.

"Sorry Gama Oyabun, but I couldn't think of any other way to end my match quickly, and I don't know the measurements of any of the other Toads yet. I hope you aren't mad with me." Naruto replied as he leapt down from Gamabunta's back to land on his nose, turning and kneeling with his head bowed.

Gamabunta chuckled at Naruto's show of respect.

"Stand up gaki, you've earned my respect. I'm just a bit annoyed that you summoned me for something so trivial, that's all. Just remember, when you are old enough, you come have your first drink of sake with your Oyabun."

Naruto grinned and stood up.

"Hai Gama Oyabun!"

Naruto saluted and then leapt into the air in a flip, dropping towards the ground rapidly as Gamabunta vanished in another cloud of smoke. As the smoke cleared Naruto was revealed to be standing on the ground below and walking towards one of the large frog footprints that now sat as massive craters on the arena floor. Everyone gasped as they realized what was in one of the footprints.

Hyuuga Neji lay flattened on his back, out cold. Genma approached quickly to confirm it, but he shook his head as he stood back up.

"Winner, Uzumaki Naruto!" He announced as he motioned for medic nins to pick up the unconscious boy.

The crowd was silent for a moment before a slow clap began in one corner. The momentum built until the entire crowd was clapping and cheering with enthusiasm. Naruto grinned and pumps his arms in the air as he waved to the cheering fans before he remembered something. Spinning he turned and ran straight towards the wall under the competitors' balcony. Without missing a beat the blond whirlwind leapt and stuck to the wall using chakra, continuing to run up the wall until he reached the balcony and could grab the railing and use it to flip him self next to his lady.

Naruto landed beside Temari with a thud and then stood up grinning. He was immediately enveloped in a hug and found his lips locked with Temari's as his blond love gave him a reward for his performance.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the arena, a dark-haired lavender-eyed girl clenched her fists in fury as she watched the Suna-whore make out with HER Naruto-kun.

* * *

AN: And here you have it folks, another chapter of Desert Fox Redux. It had been a while since I actually watched/read Naruto's training during the month between the exam segments, so part of why it took so long from when I started work on this chapter and I finished it was simply trying to find the time to rewatch those episodes. But, here it is, in all its Neji-squashing glory. I hope you all enjoyed it.

Once again, please thank my wonderful beta I.E.T.S. for the amazing job she did assisting me with this chapter.

Also, do people prefer when I do the horizontal lines across the screen for breaks, or use the centered XXs?

ZI--IZ


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